Weapons of mass destruction

A contingent of national Catholic organizations has called on President Joe Biden to undertake steps to have the United States rejoin the Iran nuclear deal in an effort to promote peace and international security.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons enters into force on Friday, 22 January. Pope Francis’ words at Hiroshima, which defined even the possession of nuclear weapons as immoral, is the latest act of a long magisterium spanning the twentieth century up to the present day.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard conducted a drill Saturday launching anti-warship ballistic missiles at a simulated target in the Indian Ocean, state television reported, amid heightened tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program and a U.S. pressure campaign against the Islamic Republic.

A Holy See-supported treaty banning the possession of nuclear weapons that is coming into force is buoying efforts by nations and nonprofit and church organizations working to abolish such armaments.

The goal of a nuclear-free world can only be achieved through a renewed sense of unity and solidarity among nations that breaks the dynamic of mistrust, said Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Vatican foreign minister. Addressing a webinar Dec. 16 on nuclear disarmament, Archbishop Gallagher highlighted the Vatican's support of political dialogue that goes "beyond the theory of fear" and of the need to "emphasize how nuclear deterrence represents a false sense of security and of stability."

Appealing for a worldwide commitment to initiating a "culture of care" for one another and for the environment, Pope Francis again called on nations to divert money from their military budgets to create a global fund to end hunger and promote development in the world's poorest nations.