By Barb Arland-Fye
Editorial
Scars are noticeable on the beautiful face of Shigeko Sasamori san, who at age 13 suffered burns that left her unrecognizable after a B-29 dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945. The blast knocked her unconscious, according to Hibakusha Stories, a website sharing the testimonies of survivors of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and, three days later, Nagasaki.
Ten years later, Shigeko traveled to the U.S. as part of a group of young women known as the Hiroshima Maidens. She underwent numerous plastic surgery operations in New York (https://tinyurl.com/yjhfys9u).
ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons) states that the atomic bombing killed an estimated 140,000 people in Hiroshima and 74,000 in Nagasaki by the end of 1945. Many survivors faced cancer, or other terrible side effects from the radiation in the years that followed, with health consequences for some of the children born to survivors (https://tinyurl.com/93sazc4e).
Their stories bear repeating in a world fraught with conflict and the threats of various countries to deploy nuclear weapons. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently reported that Iran has accelerated its production of weapons-grade materials for a nuclear weapon (Dan Lee, Quad-City Times, 7-28-24).
Last year, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops published a statement from the chair of its Committee on International Justice and Peace, calling us to be vigilant. “With the wars and threat of wars today, the menace of over 10,000 nuclear weapons in our world must not recede further from the public consciousness of today’s generation,” Bishop David J. Malloy of Rockford, Illinois said in his Aug. 1, 2023 statement.
“In our emergent multipolar world, state and non-state actors are capitalizing on rapidly developing cyber technologies that are bringing forth weapons systems of increasing sophistication and lethality, compounding the risks of destabilization and miscalculation,” Bishop Malloy said. His statement came two months before Hamas’ brutal attack against Israel, which resulted in war and unrelenting misery that threatens to consume the Middle East.
One bit of encouragement: the U.S. and Russia agreed to extend the New START Treaty (Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms) through Feb. 4, 2026, according to the U.S. State Department. Far from encouraging, however, ICAN reports that in 2023, “the nine nuclear-armed states in 2023 spent $10.8 billion (13.4%) more on their nuclear arsenals than the year before. The United States, which spent $51.5 billion, had the biggest increase, at nearly 18%,” ICAN stated. “China surpassed Russia as the second-highest spender at $11.9 billion, and Russia came in third, spending $8.3 billion.”
Also of concern, Congress is looking at revamping our nation’s nuclear arsenal, Taxpayers for Common Sense reported. “Rather than continuing to add funds for NNSA’s (National Nuclear Security Administration) nuclear weapons activities above and beyond the administration’s request, Congress should scrutinize the request and look for opportunities to save taxpayers money. Cutting funds to upgrade bombs for missiles we shouldn’t build anyway would be a logical place to start” (https://tinyurl.com/25nsjkvf).
As Catholics, we believe that every human life is sacred. We cannot risk a repeat of the devastation inflicted on Hiroshima and Nagasaki nearly 80 years ago. Imagine how much more devastating the impact would be to our world with today’s sophisticated nuclear weapons! Our call to action:
- Contact members of Congress (congress.gov) and tell them to cut funds to upgrade bombs for missiles we shouldn’t be building.
- Urge Congress to support increased investment and training in nonviolence. This will “increase our capacity to apply effective nonviolent approaches even in extremely dangerous circumstances,” as Marie Dennis of the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative said in her talk July 25 in Clinton.
- Pray, as Bishop Malloy urged the faithful, “that the leaders of our nation, and those around the world who govern the control of such weapons, will earnestly seek to make critically needed progress on arms control.” Pray that they will “discover new pathways to peace.”
- Learn more about the bishops’ teachings on nuclear disarmament at (www.usccb.org/nuclear).
- Participate in a virtual prayer service on Aug. 6 at 6 p.m. (Central Time) with women religious across the nation who will commemorate the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The sisters’ hope is to unite the faithful in “prayerful reflection and commitment to peace as we strive to create a world free from the threat of nuclear weapons,” the Franciscan Peace Center said. The prayer service will be recorded. Register at https://tinyurl.com/muefak89
Pope Francis visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a pilgrim of peace in 2019. A year later, in a message marking the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing, he prayed that their prophetic voices might serve “as a warning to us for coming generations. To them, and to all who work for reconciliation … we make the words of the psalmist our own: ‘For the love of my brethren and my friends. I say: Peace upon you!’” (Vatican News, 8-6-2020).
Barb Arland-Fye, Editor
Arland-fye@davenportdiocese.org
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