Holy See to UN: Existence of nukes fosters “fear” mentality

By Richard Marsden

Both the non-proliferation and disarmament of nuclear weapons are “moral and legal obligations towards each member of the human family,” the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations (UN) has said.

Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič has told a conference preparing for a 2020 review of the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons that the continued existence and development of them fosters a mentality of “fear, violence and dominance” in the human family and “disseminates discord” with attempts to stop their spreading.

“Unfortunate irony”
 

In a statement to the UN and other international organisations at the meeting in Geneva, Archbishop Jurkovič said: “It is an unfortunate irony that we have a full adherence in the rightful condemnation of other weapons of mass destruction, while, on the other side, we find complacency over the continued possession and massive modernizations of nuclear weapons.”

“Free human heart from fear”
 

The Archbishop added: “To achieve the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons through irreversible, verifiable and universal nuclear disarmament, we must free the human heart from fear and seething animosities. Nuclear weapons should find no place in military arsenals, but above all, their use should find no place in our hearts and minds.”