| |
 |
|
|
Pax Christi USA bishop-president announces new campaign on nuclear disarmament |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bishop Zavala states that this is “a new moment for nuclear disarmament”
Great Falls, Mont.—Bishop Gabino Zavala, the auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles and the Bishop-President of Pax Christi USA, announced yesterday in a major address at the University of Great Falls that “today, we are in a new moment regarding nuclear disarmament.”
“Just as I joined my voice with the voices of more than 100 of my fellow bishop members of Pax Christi USA, now more than 10 years ago, I say to you today that nuclear deterrence does not meet the [U.S. Bishop’s Peace Pastoral’s] criteria, it must be condemned and one day very soon I am sure, the Catholic Church in the United States will echo the words of the Vatican that ‘nuclear weapons are incompatible with the peace we seek for the 21st Century,’” stated Bishop Zavala.
Bishop Zavala used this address to publicly announce a new campaign from Pax Christi USA, “A New Moment for Nuclear Disarmament.” He pointed out that Pax Christi USA new campaign is focused on taking advantage of this opportunity to impact future U.S. nuclear policy and undo some of the dangerous decisions made in the recent past.
Citing recent actions like last December’s meeting in Paris when one hundred international political, military, business and civil leaders came together to launch a new initiative aimed at eliminating nuclear weapons as well as President Obama’s overtures of a U.S. nuclear policy built around the goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons, Bishop Zavala stated his conviction that we stand on the brink of incredible new possibilities.
“So I stand here today with great hope that a very new moment for dramatic and fundamental changes in U.S. nuclear weapons policies is within our reach,” Bishop Zavala stated. “In addition to ratifying the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, long-sought goals of taking deployed nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert status, negotiating a fissile materials cut-off treaty, and amending the Moscow Treaty to make its proposed cuts in U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals real and irreversible—these are all possible given the new Administration and Senate.”
“Each of these important and achievable steps will build the momentum needed to move further toward an international treaty to outlaw nuclear weapons once and for all,” he went on to say.
The address in Great Falls was co-sponsored by the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings and the Catholic University of Great Falls.
More information on Pax Christi USA’s new campaign can be found here.
Bishop Zavala's speech in its entirety can be found here.
______________
For more information, contact:
John Zokovitch, Pax Christi USA Communications Director:
(352) 219-8419 or johnnypcusa@yahoo.com
back |
|
|
|
|