Their joint statement, released January 21 by the Partnership for a World without Nuclear Weapons, warns that the moral urgency of disarmament has only intensified amid global instability and renewed nuclear threats.
The anniversary comes just months after several US Bishops traveled to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 2025 to commemorate the 80th anniversaries of the atomic bombings.
Their pilgrimage included prayer, dialogue with survivors, and participation in peace events alongside Japanese bishops—an experience that deepened their shared resolve to advocate for a world free of nuclear arms.
A call rooted in Catholic teaching
The Bishops note that the Vatican was the first nation-state to sign and ratify the TPNW in 2017, a move they describe as an expression of the Holy See’s “unwavering commitment to the total elimination of nuclear weapons.”
They contrast this with the failure of nuclear-armed states to fulfill their obligations under the 1970 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which requires good-faith negotiations toward disarmament.
“The nuclear weapons powers have never honored their long‑held obligations,” the statement reads, lamenting that instead of reducing arsenals, nuclear states are engaged in massive modernization programs “designed to keep nuclear weapons forever.”
The Bishops argue that while the TPNW’s legal force applies only to ratifying nations, its moral force is universal.
They express hope that the treaty’s growing global support—now a majority of the world’s countries—will exert pressure on nuclear‑armed nations to change course.
Global tensions underscore the stakes
The statement highlights Russia’s nuclear threats during the war in Ukraine and escalating tensions in the Middle East as evidence that the world remains perilously close to nuclear catastrophe. These realities, the Bishops say, underscore the need for urgent action.
“Eight decades of nuclear threats is far too long,” they write, pointing to the testimony preserved in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombing museums as a stark reminder of the human cost of nuclear warfare.
Voices from Hiroshima
Cardinal Robert McElroy, Archbishop of Washington, D.C., who joined the August pilgrimage to Japan, offered a forceful message during the Hiroshima anniversary events.
“We refuse to live in a world of nuclear proliferation and risk‑taking,” he said. “We will resist, we will organize, we will pray, we will not cease, until the world’s nuclear arsenals have been destroyed.”
His words, the Bishops say, capture the spirit of their ongoing collaboration.
A partnership for peace
The Partnership for a World without Nuclear Weapons includes the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, the Archdiocese of Seattle, the Archdiocese of Nagasaki, the Diocese of Hiroshima, and other dioceses committed to advancing Catholic teaching on peace and disarmament.
Their collaboration reflects a growing movement within the Church to elevate nuclear disarmament as a pastoral and moral priority—one that bridges continents and cultures.
“A Light of Peace”
The Bishops describe the TPNW as “a great step toward the light of peace,” urging world leaders to demonstrate measurable progress toward disarmament. They emphasize that the moral responsibility to act transcends national borders.
“It is long past time for the nuclear weapons powers to begin to make some tangible progress,” they write.