Catholic social teaching offers us both a practical framework for action and an important source of hope in our approach to arms control and disarmament.
When Pope John Paul II visited Coventry, a city once devastated by war, the United Nations General Assembly was about to convene in a historic special session dedicated to disarmament.
Inviting Catholics in England and Wales to pray for its success, he proclaimed:
“The voices of Christians join with others in urgingthe leaders of the world to abandon confrontation and to turn their backs on policies which require nations to spend vast sums of money on weapons of mass destruction.” 1
Today, more than forty years on, that call continues to resonate. The UN Secretary General recently warned:
“Humanity now confronts a new arms race. Nuclear weapons are being used as tools of coercion. Weapons systems are being upgraded, and placed at the centre of national security strategies, making these devices of death faster, more accurate and stealthier. All this, at a moment when division and mistrust are pulling countries and regions apart.”2
These issues may sometimes feel abstract to us here in England and Wales. However, there are many reasons why they should concern us greatly.
Public funds spent on weaponry, including by our own countries, could be better used to promote the common good of humanity.
Catholic social teaching offers us both a practical framework for action and an important source of hope in our approach to arms control and disarmament.
Weapons are fuelling conflicts across the globe with catastrophic consequences for the most vulnerable people, some of whom seek sanctuary in our communities.
Wars are inflicting damage to ecosystems around the world and increasing carbon emissions, with devastating implications for our common home.
Arms races are fomenting a breakdown of relations among the international community, making cooperation on a wide range of issues more difficult with repercussions for our own futures.
Above all, every human life lost to violence and conflict is a tragedy for our universal family. In Fratelli Tutti Pope Francis encourages us to recognise all people as our sisters and brothers, wherever they are in the world.3 We cannot, therefore, ever ignore the devastating use of modern weapons beyond our own borders.
Confronted with these challenges, Catholic social teaching offers us both a practical framework for action and an important source of hope. The papal encyclicals and other works of the Church discussed in these pages clearly demonstrate that arms control and disarmament are not naïve aspirations but real possibilities.
It is our responsibility to share this message. For as scripture reminds us: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace” (Isaiah 52:7).
Mary Queen of Peace, Pray for Us.
Bishop Nicholas Hudson
Bishop Declan Lang
Bishop William Kenney
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1 Pope John Paul II, Solemnity of Pentecost, 30 May 1982.
2 UN Secretary-General António Guterres, ‘Lift Shadow of Nuclear Annihilation’, Strengthen Disarmament, Secretary-General Urges at Peace Memorial Marking 75 Years since Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki, 9 August 2023.
3 Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti [8], 2020.
Supporting a moratorium on the development and use of lethal autonomous weapons.
The principles of Catholic social teaching in relation to weapons remain consistent.
We have a responsibility to respond to Pope Francis’ call to counter the logic of fear and foster a climate of trust and dialogue.
