This week I speak with Archbishop John Wester of New Mexico about his pilgrimage of peace last month to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, for the 80th anniversary of the US atomic bombing, and his ground-breaking work of reconciliation with the bishops and church in Japan.
Archbishop John Wester became Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2015 after serving as bishop of Salt Lake City, and before that, auxiliary bishop of San Francisco. His January 11th, 2022, pastoral letter called, “Living in the Light of Christ’s Peace: A Conversation Toward Nuclear Disarmament” is the first official document in US Church history calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons. To read it visit www.archdiosf.org
He tells about his first visit to Hiroshima a few years ago, and returning home to Santa Fe and seeing the place where the scientists worked on the actual Hiroshima bomb.
“We commemorate this anniversary,” he continues, “so that it will never happen again. We’re not just commemorating the past but trying to preserve the future.” During his meetings with the Japanese bishops and other church leaders, he and others launched a new organization, “A Partnership for a World Without Nuclear Weapons,” www.pwnw.org to promote solidarity and cooperation between the Japanese and American church for nuclear disarmament. This is something that has never happened until now. It’s a real sign of hope.
He quotes Omar Bradley: “Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living. We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount.”
Wester shares with me who he thinks changed the whole discourse on nuclear weapons in the Catholic Church, and even said that possessing nuclear weapons is immoral.
And he says in no uncertain terms how we have "become inured to war, violence and starvation. Over 60,000 have died in Gaza; we read about, sip some coffee and go on with our daily business. We have to join our voices with others to get rid of nuclear weapons and end our wars.”
He recalls some statistics that should give us pause regarding what the results of a nuclear war would be and how our nuclear arms race is worse than ever.
There is hope as Wester explains who is behind all the peace movements. Listen in and be inspired by this prophetic leader for nuclear disarmament!
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