WCC NEWS: WCC reiterates the need for a nuclear weapons-free world

As 6 August and 9 August mark the anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, the World Council of Churches joined the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and other religious and civic groups in urging nuclear-armed and nuclear umbrella states to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Participants of the memorial ceremony in Nagasaki, Japan.Photo:Paul Jeffrey/WCC 08 August 2023 “Though the destruction of Nagasaki still stands as the last time an atomic bomb was used in conflict, it was followed by decades of nuclear weapon testing programmes involving thousands of nuclear detonations around the world, in faraway places where the Indigenous populations and environments continue to suffer the consequences,” noted Peter Prove, director of the World Council of Churches Commission of the Churches on International Affairs. “And now the unlikely combination of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a Hollywood ‘blockbuster' have thrust the existential threat of nuclear conflagration back into the public consciousness.” Prove urged: “It's finally time for the stupidest and most catastrophically destructive weapons ever invented by human beings—or more specifically, men—to be eliminated. So let's do it.” See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland