The Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations in Geneva has addressed a UN committee on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. Source: Vatican News.
Archbishop Ettore Balestrero told those gathered for the discussion – officially titled the “Second Preparatory Committee of the 2026 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons” – of the Holy See’s “deep concern” about nuclear escalation.
Nuclear weapons pose an “existential threat”, Archbishop Balestrero said, which has been exacerbated by the current “tense strategic environment” and the “ongoing modernisation and expansion of nuclear arsenals”.
A distinctive feature of Vatican diplomacy on nuclear issues is that the possession of nuclear weapons, even for deterrence, is morally wrong.
This was a principle that Archbishop Balestrero underlined, noting that Pope Francis has recently reaffirmed the immorality of both manufacturing and possessing nuclear weapons.
The Archbishop went on to say that the Holy See is concerned both by the “continuing growth in military expenditure related to nuclear weapons” and the “increase in rhetoric and threats about their possible use”.
Such actions, he said, are “an affront to humanity as a whole”.
Archbishop Balestrero said it is important to recognise that non-proliferation and disarmament, in addition to being legal obligations, are “ethical responsibilities towards all members of the human family”.
He quoted Pope Francis who, during his visit to Nagasaki in 2019, said that “Peace and international stability are incompatible with attempts to build upon the fear of mutual destruction or the threat of total annihilation. They can be achieved only on the basis of a global ethic of solidarity and cooperation.”
Archbishop Balestrero called for “sincere dialogue” aimed at reducing nuclear weapons stockpiles worldwide, and noted that the money spent on nuclear weapons could be better spent on humanitarian projects.
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Holy See expresses ‘deep concern’ over growth in nuclear rhetoric (By Joseph Tulloch, Vatican News)
