By George H. Waring,
Holy Spirit Parish, Butte

Our parish Justice Voices Ministry was inspired to challenge our brothers and sisters in Christ to do something out of the ordinary the last weekend in March. We asked them to put their names on a petition in support of Church doctrine that teaches a definitive “no” to nuclear weapons.

We asked them to remember back to the height of the Cold War when the Navy was holding maneuvers off the Pacific Coast of the Soviet Union and new Pershing nuclear missiles were being deployed in West Germany, missiles that could annihilate Moscow within four to six minutes of firing.

That was when our Bishops issued their pastoral letter on war and peace in the nuclear age, “The Challenge of Peace: God’s Promise and Our Response.”

It was 25 years ago that our Church’s leaders cited Vatican II’s statement: “The nuclear arms race is one of the greatest curses on the human race, an act of aggression against the poor and a folly which does not provide the security it promises.” [The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, No. 81]

In 1983 our Church leaders were still unable to totally condemn the policy of nuclear deterrence that had been adopted during the 1950s. That policy resulted in large arsenals of nuclear weapons maintained solely to prevent the use of those weapons. However, our bishops did state that such a policy should never become a long-term policy. They stated that national leaders in the nuclear age must work for “a progressive disarmament.” [The Challenge of Peace, Nos.173-175]

Fifteen years ago the bishops went farther and stated that “progressive disarmament” must mean a commitment to the elimination of nuclear weapons, not simply as an ideal, but as a concrete policy goal. [”Harvest of Justice is Sown in Peace,” National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Nov. 17, 1993]

Today we belong to a Church that explicitly states that nuclear deterrence is no longer a suitable or moral means to preserve peace. We find this statement in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church, No. 508: “Policies of nuclear deterrence, typical of the Cold War period, must be replaced with concrete measures of disarmament based on dialogue and multilateral negotiations.”

In fact, just three years ago, the Vatican spokesman on the subject of nuclear weapons stated: “The Holy See has never countenanced nuclear deterrence as a permanent measure, nor does it today when it is evident that nuclear deterrence drives the development of ever newer nuclear arms, thus preventing genuine nuclear disarmament.” [H.E. Mons. Celestino Migliore, 4 May 2005]

On this 25th anniversary of “The Challenge of Peace,” we need to raise our “Justice Voices” to our national leaders. Instead of working for nuclear disarmament, they are making nuclear deterrence our permanent national security policy.

What our bishops rejected as a “long-term basis for peace” in 1983 is becoming the foundation of national military policy today. There is no plan to eliminate these immoral weapons or their central role in national security strategy planning.

Instead, our government is embarked on a $150 billion reinvestment in its nuclear weapons arsenal in a program called “Complex Transformation.” The nuclear arsenal would be modernized so existing warheads may achieve even more frightening capabilities. The program would upgrade our government’s capacity for nuclear weapons research, design and production. The United States would have even greater abilities to launch nuclear attacks against any target on earth in less than a few hours. [For more information on the government program, visit http://www.ananuclear.org/Issues/NuclearWeapons/ComplexTransformation/tabid/94/Default.aspx].

What is it that we followers of the nonviolent Jesus find ourselves called to do at this historic moment?

Our answer at Holy Spirit was to ask parishioners to take our Catholic political responsibility seriously. We made available the Pax Christi flyer, “Stop Nuclear Terrorism.” It spells out the threat posed by the acceptance of nuclear deterrence as a permanent policy. It provides us all the opportunity to sign a Catholic plea to the government to abandon its $150 billion “Complex Transformation” program.

It was less than a decade ago that Pope John Paul II’s spokesman defined for the United Nations General Assembly our Church’s view on nuclear weapons: “Nuclear weapons are incompatible with the peace we seek for the 21st century. They cannot be justified. They deserve condemnation. The preservation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty demands an unequivocal commitment to their abolition. … This is a moral challenge, a legal challenge and a political challenge. That multiple-based challenge must be met by the application of our humanity.” [Statement by H.E. Arch. Renato R. Martino, 14 October 1999.]

We pray that you and your peace and justice ministry will join ours at this critical moment. May our reflections on recent history, combined with guidance from the social teachings of our faith, give us the personal and communal strength and wisdom to follow the guidance of the nonviolent Jesus. God bless you with peace through justice.

To download the Pax Christi flyer visit .

Justice Voices articles are coordinated by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development committee of the Helena Diocese.


Published in The Montana Catholic Online, Volume 24, No. 4, April 18, 2008.