Are Nuclear Weapons an Absolute Evil?

Photo: bswise (Flickr)

Featuring The Most Reverend Joseph Mitsuaki Takami, Archbishop of Nagasaki and President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan

Seventy-five years ago, two atomic weapons destroyed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Archbishop Takami was born seven months after the bombing of Nagasaki, which killed his grandmother, two aunts, and an uncle and left what Pope Francis called  “a black hole of destruction and death.” 

In a speech before the United Nations in 2010, the Archbishop stated, “The cruelty of an atomic bomb is in its capability of mass destruction and murder. An atomic bomb means a total denial of the dignity of a human person." During this virtual event, the Archbishop will offer personal reflections on the atomic bombings, as well as his perspective on the moral and policy challenges of pursuing a world free of nuclear weapons. 

Other speakers include:

• Drew Christiansen, S.J.,  Senior Research Fellow, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, Georgetown University
• Maryann Cusimano Love, Associate Professor, Institute for Policy Research, The Catholic University of America
• Hirokazu Miyazaki, Kay Davis Professor; Professor of Anthropology, Northwestern University
• Moderator: Gerard Powers, Director, Catholic Peacebuilding Studies; Coordinator, Catholic Peacebuilding Network, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame

This event is hosted by the University of Notre Dame's Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, part of the Keough School of Global Affairs, in partnership with the Catholic Peacebuilding Network; Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs; The Catholic University of America’s Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies; Northwestern University’s Sheil Catholic Center; The Notre Dame International Security Center; the Center for Social Concerns and the Catholic Social Tradition Minor, University of Notre Dame; and the International Federation of Catholic Universities. 

This is one in a series of initiatives of the Project on Revitalizing Catholic Engagement on Nuclear Disarmament.