Wester warns: ‘We are now in a nuclear arms race far more dangerous than the first’

By Gina Christian, OSV News

(OSV News) — Archbishop John C. Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico, has traveled to Japan on a “pilgrimage of peace” commemorating the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. The pilgrimage, which the archbishop undertook last year as well, was announced Aug. 3 by the Santa Fe Archdiocese.

The attacks on the two Japanese cities — launched by the U.S. on Aug. 6 and 9, 1945, in an effort to force the unconditional surrender of Japan and hasten the end of the war — killed an estimated 110,000 to 210,000 people. The true number of casualties is “probably fundamentally unknowable,” according to nuclear weapons historian Alex Wellerstein.

During the multi-day pilgrimage, Archbishop Wester and Jay Coghlan, executive director of the nonprofit Nuclear Watch New Mexico, are meeting with Japanese and Korean bishops, civic and religious leaders, and survivors of the bombings known as “hibakusha” (from a compound Japanese word for “one who suffered in the explosion”). According to the Santa Fe Archdiocese, the visit is designed to foster “dialogue and solidarity in the shared mission to eliminate nuclear weapons globally.”

Archbishop Wester shared his thoughts on the pilgrimage with OSV News in an Aug. 6 email while on the road in Japan.

This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.

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OSV News: What has changed since your last pilgrimage? Have you seen progress, regression or both?

Archbishop Wester: I suppose what has changed is the addition of the Gaza war protest, which tells me that the people are committed to peace everywhere and at all times. So, while much is the same, there is a freshness to the events of Aug. 6 in Hiroshima, a sense that the bombing here 79 years ago gives those in Hiroshima a license, if you will, to speak out about war and violence and peace.

Another feeling I picked up on … is that there is a frustration that our world leaders are not listening. The tragedy of the 200,000 killed both in Hiroshima and Nagasaki seems to fall on deaf ears.

We are now in a nuclear arms race arguably far more dangerous than the first. We see countries modernizing their nuclear arsenals and spending scads of money in what appears to be (a move toward) “nuclear weapons forever.”

This adds a sense of sadness to the commemorations that overlays the sadness that naturally one feels in remembering the horrific suffering that took place in 1945 and that continues to play out in the hibakusha today.

OSV News: As more survivors pass away, are you concerned that the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will be forgotten?

Archbishop Wester: Yes, I am concerned that the horrors of 1945 will be forgotten, both because human beings do not like to dwell on tragedy and suffering, and because those who experienced the horror of the atomic attacks, the hibakusha, are dying out.

A recent New York Times article mentioned that the average age of the hibakusha is 85 and that hundreds are dying every month. We are all familiar with (Spanish-American philosopher) George Santayana’s remark that “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

This has been a vital role of the hibakusha — reminding us all of the past so that it is never repeated. This is the work of those committed to verifiable, multilateral nuclear disarmament and abolition. We honor the hibakusha and we strive to keep their memories alive in our own minds and hearts so that we can work ever more tirelessly for nuclear disarmament.

I believe that we must memorialize the stories of the hibakusha through literature, museums, interviews and other means. And we must reassure the hibakusha that we are listening, that we care about them and that their stories will not be forgotten.

OSV News: How can the current generation, which has never known a nuclear attack, better understand what is at stake here?

Archbishop Wester: I think that the current generation needs to listen to the stories of the hibakusha and reflect on them.

I can still remember the 1962 Cuban missile crisis (when the former Soviet Union and the U.S. were locked in a nuclear weapon standoff). I remember where I was when I looked up to see if the planes overhead were from Russia or not. We experienced a bit of the fear and anxiety of the moment.

Today’s youth in the U.S. only hear about that crisis in history books or movies. We must educate them on the horrors of nuclear weapons and their destructive potential.

Nuclear bombs exist in silos; they are by their nature secret and out of sight. This adds to the danger that our youth will not understand in any visceral sense the danger the nukes present to all of us.

Education is important here but so is storytelling. We must keep the stories of the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki alive as best that we can. Putting a human face on things is far more effective than simply reading a list of facts.

OSV News: What are the main challenges to building a world free of nuclear weapons?

Archbishop Wester: The main challenges today to building a world free of nuclear weapons are many.

A large one is to get people to listen, to comprehend that the human race is standing at the brink of nuclear disaster. Related to that is getting our leaders to do something about this.

In other words, we face the challenge of getting people to listen, to judge and to act when it comes to the nuclear arms race we are in today.

I think it is imperative that we convince people that they must demand that their leaders sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, a treaty that was first signed by the Vatican. This treaty does not have even one nuclear armed state as a signatory. Not one. In fact, the U.S., Britain and France actively lobbied against the treaty when it was first introduced. This is atrocious.

The only way to convince our leaders of the need to de-escalate and disarm in a multilateral and verifiable manner is to get a majority of citizens to unite around this vital cause. Leaders look to where the votes are. And leaders listen when the people speak clearly with one voice about an urgent cause.

The Catholic Church, which is squarely pro-life, has an opportunity to lead in this regard. Pope Francis has boldly and unequivocally asserted that even possessing nuclear weapons is immoral. … We must take this assertion seriously and do something about it, adding nuclear disarmament to our church’s pro-life stance.

The church must continue to pray, to educate, to inspire and to lead when it comes to eliminating the danger posed by nuclear weapons.

The synod on a synodal church emphasizes that the Holy Spirit works in all God’s people and that we are all instruments of Christ’s peace. I pray that we can realize this before it is too late.

Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @GinaJesseReina.

For more information on the Partnership for a World without Nuclear Weapons and updates on the pilgrimage, visit archdiosf.org/living-in-the-light-of-christs-peace and the Archdiocese of Santa Fe’s Facebook page.