As I make my way to Hiroshima today to begin another pilgrimage of hope and peace to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, perhaps it would be helpful to give some background and reasons why nuclear weapons are such a threat to humanity. As vast as this challenge to our existence is, there are steps each of us can take to build a better world where peace one day prevails.
The picture above recalls the moment the Archbishops of Nagasaki, Santa Fe and Seattle along with the Bishop of Hiroshima entered into a Partnership for a World Without Nuclear Weapons. I look forward to renewing these relationships in the days ahead. You will hear more about this Partnership in the coming days.
The data I share in this brief reflection comes from a book by Annie Jacobsen entitled Nuclear War. Most know the atomic age began when atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945, killing instantly 80,000 people. Many more would die in the days, months and years following from their wounds and radiation exposure. That bomb weighed approximately 9,700 pounds and had a force equivalent to 15 kilotons of TNT. (p. 9) That had the similar impact to dropping 2,100 tons of conventional bombs all at the same time.
Three days later, August 9, 1945, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. While the estimates of the death toll vary greatly, these two bombs killed over 200,000 people by the end of 1945, most of these civilians. The suffering, chaos and devastation to infrastructure that followed is unimaginable.
The moral fallout from these catastrophic events continues to haunt humanity today. The science of the time continued to increase the destructive power of these bombs. By 1952 a thermonuclear bomb had emerged with an explosive power of 10.4 megatons. Just one such bomb would have the power of 1,000 Hiroshima bombs detonating at the same time! One bomb could now take the lives of millions of people in one moment. (p.17)
By 1960 the U.S. stockpile of nuclear weapons of mass destruction stood at 18,638 nuclear bombs. Today, that number worldwide is estimated around 12, 250, mostly in the arsenals of the United States and Russia. I share a quote from the book which poses the ultimate question for us, and the essential reason why the argument of deterrence makes no sense. The world needs to work towards the elimination of all nuclear weaponse and the cessation of all production of such weapons of mass destruction.
Why stockpile 1,000 or 18,000 or 31,255 nuclear bombs when a single one of them the size of Ivy Mike, dropped on New York City or Moscow, could leave some 10 million people dead? Why continue to mass-produce thousands of these weapons when the use of a single thermonuclear bomb will almost certainly ignite a wider, unstoppable, civilization-ending nuclear war? (Nuclear War, p. 21)
As the world commemorates the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Japan, I invite you to join me in prayerfully reflecting on the importance of reclaiming our understanding of the sacredness of human life. Pray to be moved by the inhumanity of using weapons capable of dealing such death and destruction. This is not rational. It is not moral. Wars must end while our respect for one another must be recovered. The military-industrial complex must be reduced while at the same time finding ways to address the many roots of injustice to build a world economy that truly serves the human person, the human family. Fear and greed must give way to understanding which surrounds individuals and nations in need with the support they need to improve their quality of life and help each member of society claim anew their own dignity.
This is the path to peace. This is the path to a more meaningful life for everyone. As the picture above indicates, there are practical things each of us can do to advance peace. It begins with you and me.