Pray and Call for Nuclear Abolition.

Pray and Call for Nuclear Abolition.

August 6 and 9, 2020, are the 75th anniversaries of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Events are being planned around the world, and a network of organizations is working to pull those together into one place. We, Columban Sisters, a missionary Congregation invite you to join us in reflecting today and to pray for nuclear disarmament.

It is estimated to have killed 140,000 people just in the months following the explosion. Today, survivors, their relatives and a small number of foreign dignitaries commemorated the anniversary with prayers, songs and calls for world peace. 

The ceremony at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial also offered a minute of silence at exactly 8:15 a.m. local time (2315 GMT Wednesday), the time the first nuclear weapon was detonated over the city.

In an address, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui said: “We must never allow this painful past to repeat itself. Civil society must reject self-centered nationalism and unite against all threats.” 

We encourage everyone to remember Hiroshima/Nagasaki and speak out in support of nuclear abolition.  Today, we are living in a time of extraordinary nuclear dangers. Vital international agreements to reduce and control nuclear weapons worldwide are being abandoned. Budgets for the development and production of new nuclear weapons are growing. Tensions among nuclear-armed nations are rising to levels not seen since the Cold War. People created these weapons and designed the systems governing their use; people can work to eliminate them.                                                We must press our leaders to take the actions necessary to ensure nuclear weapons are never used again and to negotiate in good faith the global elimination of these most devastating weapons of mass destruction.

A Prayer for Nuclear Disarmament                                                                   

Lord of all creation, make us instruments of your peace.

Let us learn the lessons of the past and put an end to nuclear weapons.

Where there is hatred, let us sow love.

May our love for each other and for all of your creation

Leave no place for making or owning weapons of mass destruction.

Where there is injury, let us be bearers of your healing and pardon.

May we create paths to dialogue, understanding and reconciliation.

Where there is doubt, let us foster faith in you.

May we let the weapons fall from our hands and know that you are God.

Where there is despair, let us hold up hope.

May our lives reflect your love in the face of violence,

Knowing that love is stronger than death.

Where there is darkness, let us be bearers of your light.

May our choices show that peace is possible.

Where there is sadness, let us bring the joy of the Gospel.

Amen. (Australian Bishop’s Conference)

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E-mail us : weboffice@columbansisters.org