The Divine Word Missionaries AUS Province, which is one of the 599 partner organisations to sign on to the UN Treaty to ban nuclear weapons, has joined Australia’s bishops in urging the federal government to sign onto the treaty, which came into force last week.
The majority of United Nations member states, including the Holy See, have signed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Australia, however, has not yet become a signatory.
SVD AUS Provincial, Fr Asaeli Rass, says the treaty is “absolutely monumental work initiated by ICAN (The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons)”.
“Obviously the treaty will not stop nations from activating nuclear weapons,” he says. “Still, we could not afford to relive the horrific attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing more than 200,000 civilians with a single atomic bomb.
“Nuclear weapons are the most dangerous weapons on earth and the world has 13, 400 nuclear heads. One single bomb can destroy a whole city, potentially killing millions, and jeopardising the natural environment and lives of future generations through its long-term catastrophic effects.
“Whatever position you take, atomic weapons undermine global security and world peace. They must be eliminated now.”
Fr Rass says he endorses the call by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference’s Bishop Delegate for Social Justice, Bishop Terry Brady, for Prime Minister Scott Morrison to sign Australia up to the UN treaty to ban nuclear weapons.
In his letter to Mr Morrison, Bishop Brady explained that the elimination of nuclear weapons would be a major step towards creating peace in the world.
“Experience has taught us that the threat of mutual destruction – with the possibility of the total destruction of human kind and our common home – cannot provide a foundation for peace and security in the multipolar world of the 21st Century,” Bishop Brady wrote.
“Nuclear weapons are incapable of addressing terrorism, asymmetrical conflicts, cybersecurity, ecological problems, or poverty.
“Any use of nuclear weapons is clearly immoral as they are inherently indiscriminate and their impact is uncontainable in time and space.”
Fr Rass says the founder of the Divine Word Missionaries, St Arnold Janssen, wrote in 1894 that: “We can no longer save the world with sermons and liturgy alone”.
“Today, inspired by St Arnold’s example, we are called to identify the causes and impacts of social and economic inequality among the poor and address issues related to migration, ethnic conflicts and all kinds of injustice and world conflict,” he says.
“We can do this by developing programs in SVD managed parishes and communities to promote justice, reconciliation, and peace-building, always in dialogue and collaboration with others.”
PHOTO: Celebrations after the treaty to ban nuclear weapons was ratified. The treaty has now come into force. (ICAN website)