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New nuclear treaty underlines Vatican's concern for poor

Nuclear weapons are no more the pinnacle of a state's monopoly on violence and the ultimate signifier of domination
New nuclear treaty underlines Vatican's concern for poor

German activists of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons stage a protest in Berlin on Jan. 22. They were angry that Germany was not among the countries that ratified the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. (Photo: Tobias Schwarz/AFP)

Published: January 31, 2021 03:56 AM GMT
Updated: January 31, 2021 04:36 AM GMT

When the global Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) came into force on Jan. 22, it destroyed the myth that nuclear weapons ensure global peace.

The treaty, backed by the Vatican and signed by 123 United Nations member states, will apply the brakes on the mad rush to build new nuclear warheads and delivery vehicles by nine declared nuclear states.

It will also check the efforts of a few nations and some non-state actors to lay their hands on the most extreme expression of violence.

The treaty bans states from taking part in any nuclear weapons-related activities, including development, testing, possession, stockpile, use or threat of use of nuclear weapons.

With the new treaty in force, nuclear weapons are no more the pinnacle of a state's monopoly on violence and the ultimate signifier of domination.

The normative framework by which they are judged has been changed forever after the TPNW became international law.

Despite stiff opposition from the declared nuclear states, there is widespread public support for the treaty, passed by the UN, with more than 120 countries voting in favor in 2017.

The propaganda that nuclear weapons have kept the peace since the end of World War II is no match for the enormously high cost of producing nuclear weapons, which are a blunt, inefficient and ineffective means of warfare judged by conventional standards.

The TPNW has addressed the moral question of a nuclear conflagration and its widespread catastrophe on humanity, which is struggling to come to terms with the impending ecological Armageddon of profit-driven industrialization.

The treaty enjoys huge support even from people in nuclear-armed countries, while the Vatican and nearly 500 civil society groups have thrown their weight behind it.

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons — a group of non-government organizations from 100 countries that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017 — played a vital role in the treaty’s success.

Pope’s stance

The Church's deep concern over the proliferation of nuclear weapons is not new. Pope John XXIII was instrumental in de-escalating the Cuban missile crisis in 1963. The Vatican played a leading role in formulating the first Limited Test Ban Treaty in the same year.

Speaking in Hiroshima in November 2019, Pope Francis said: "The use of atomic energy for purposes of war is immoral, just as the possession of nuclear weapons is immoral, as I already said two years ago."

The pope has placed the Church's opposition to nuclear weapons in its catechism.

The Church is leaving no stone unturned in its efforts to achieve nuclear disarmament, ban nuclear weapons, safeguard nuclear materials, reduce the reliance on nuclear weapons and bring the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty into force. It is also against policies and projects to normalize the use of nuclear weapons.

The Vatican is working with powerful states like the US and Russia to reduce their stockpile of nuclear weapons and strengthen the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty.

But the Church does not believe in the illusion that nuclear weapons will disappear one fine morning.

"There is no illusion that the number of weapons will disappear as if by magic or after moral and legal condemnation. Therefore, the Holy See is equally engaged in a step-by-step dialogue with nuclear-armed states," said Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, secretary of the Holy See's Dicastery on Integral Human Development.

In any case, the TPNW has challenged the pernicious modern corollary that a few states have the sole right to use and possess nuclear weapons, which have been used only twice in war so far but have been detonated more than 2,000 times across the world.

The Church's success over the treaty also shows that religions can play a positive role in global politics in defending lives and standing up for the poor.

Some people term such positive involvement of the Church in global politics as "resurrection politics." Over the years, the Vatican has been effectively involved in global politics to defend developing nations.

The Church's resurrection politics succeeded in concluding many international treaties like the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, the International Campaign to Ban Cluster Munitions, the Jubilee movement for international debt relief to developing countries, and efforts against human trafficking.

Indeed, the state should interact with religion and vice versa. Religions have a duty to stand against the immorality of the state to defend the poor. Failure would mean irrelevance for religions.

The Church's support for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons shows its ability to stand up for the poor against the powerful.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News.

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