California Council of Churches
Follow Us, Like Us, Write Us
  • Home
  • CCC Blog
  • About & Contact
    • Staff & Board of Directors
    • Contact Us
  • Current Issues
    • Civil Rights
    • Economic Justice
    • Health Care
    • Marriage Equality
    • Peace & Justice
    • Religious Liberty
    • Resources & Study Guides
  • Support Our Work
    • Car Donations
  • Church IMPACT
  • Financial Coaching

Faith Groups to Biden: Pursue Diplomacy to Avoid Nuclear Catastrophe

10/18/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
The California Council of Churches has joined more than two dozen faith groups in writing a letter to President Biden urging the abolition of nuclear weapons, and stating that “the possession and use of nuclear weapons cannot be justified.” The letter comes after the Biden administration responded with threats of “catastrophic consequences” to Russian Pres. Putin’s veiled threats to use nuclear weapons.
 
The full letter is below and you can find articles from the Friends Committee on National Legislation here and the Church of the Brethren’s Office of Peacebuilding and Policy here.
 

​You can take action and condemn Russia's nuclear threats and press for diplomacy to end the war in Ukraine through the Friends Committee on National Legislation here.


​October 13, 2022 

The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20050 

Dear Mr. President: 

In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. The United States responded with warnings of “catastrophic consequences” for such an action. As faith-based organizations, we believe that the possession and use of nuclear weapons cannot be justified and we call for their abolition. We condemn Putin’s recent nuclear threats and remain concerned that an unending cycle of escalation leading to global annihilation is all too possible. We urge you to avoid the path towards mutually assured destruction by resisting pressure to respond with nuclear weapons if Moscow takes the unthinkable step of detonating nuclear weapons in Ukraine. 

There is no justification for the use of nuclear weapons. The sheer scale of their destructive capability would risk planetary annihilation and a humanitarian armageddon. A wide array of faith leaders and interfaith groups around the world have agreed that nuclear weapons are intrinsically immoral weapons that must never be used. Pope Francis said earlier this year: 

“I wish to reaffirm that the use of nuclear weapons, as well as their mere possession, is immoral... Trying to defend and ensure stability and peace through a false sense of security and a ‘balance of terror,' sustained by a mentality of fear and mistrust inevitably ends up poisoning relationships between peoples and obstructing any possible form of real dialogue. Possession leads easily to threats of their use, becoming a sort of ‘blackmail’ that should be repugnant to the consciences of humanity.” 

Putin’s thinly veiled threat to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine is a horrifying act of nuclear blackmail that contradicts his own admission that “there can be no winners in a nuclear war and it should never be unleashed.” Any nuclear response on behalf of the United States would also contradict your own recognition that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.” If the United States responds to Russian nuclear use in kind, it could lead us all down the path to a full-scale nuclear war and the catastrophic loss of human life. As the Mennonite Church General Assembly proclaimed, “we cannot ignore humanity’s apparent capability of annihilating God’s creation via nuclear weapons.” 

A nuclear war would also result in unimaginable harm to the planet. The science is clear: even a regional or so called “limited” nuclear war would bring about unforgivable harm to the global climate. According to the landmark report, Nuclear Famine (2022), a nuclear war involving less than 3% of the world's nuclear arsenals would block out the sun, cause a global temperature drop, collapse global crop production, and create mass starvation on a scale never before seen. Societies everywhere would have to adapt to a dark, cold, and inhospitable planet. 

As we continue to hear the rattling of nuclear sabers, we reiterate that this era of nuclear coercion must end. Our shared humanity reminds us that despite our differences, we share a moral responsibility to de-escalate tensions, return to negotiations, and realize a world without nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons are incompatible with our fundamental respect for human dignity. They threaten our planet, communities and families, without which we cannot pursue our prosperity, well-being or happiness. As United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres stated, “their elimination would be the greatest gift we could bestow on future generations.” 

We urge you to explore every avenue of dialogue, diplomacy, and negotiation to ease tensions with Russia, end the bloodshed in Ukraine, and eliminate the nuclear threat to all humankind. 

​Sincerely,
Alliance of Baptists
American Friends Service Committee
California Council of Churches
Center on Conscience and War
Church of the Brethren, Office of Peacebuilding and Policy Disciples Peace Fellowship
Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, DC
Faith for Black Lives
Franciscan Action Network
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Hindus for Human Rights
InterReligious Task Force on Central America and Colombia Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Moravian Church Northern Province
Moravian Church Southern Province
Most Reverend John C. Wester, Archbishop of Santa Fe National Council of Churches 
National Religious Campaign Against Torture Pax Christi Metro DC-Baltimore
Pax Christi USA
Pennsylvania Council of Churches Presbyterian Church (USA) 
Religions for Peace USA
Soka Gakkai International-USA
Sojourners
United Church of Christ, Justice and Local Church Ministries
The United Methodist Church -- General Board of Church and Society 
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    The Rev Dr Rick Schlosser

    Archives

    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    January 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    February 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    July 2014

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Civil Rights
    Economic Justice
    Elections
    Financial Coaching
    Healthcare
    Marriage Equality
    Peace & Justice
    Racism
    Religious Liberty

Website by L2Designery