On the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, on Aug. 9, a cohort of Japanese and U.S. Catholic bishops announced a new initiative to promote the realization of a world without nuclear weapons, focusing on past acts, the present reality, and building a culture of peace.
Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe says he vividly remembers a somber day on a 2017 trip to Japan where he heard the story of school children rushing to their classroom windows on an August day in 1945, attracted by the bright light of an atomic bomb detonating.
Catholic bishops in Japan called for the prohibition of nuclear weapons as they announced a 10-day prayer program marking the anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.
