August 9, 2023 Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration Witness Outside the White House–Breaking News From Nagasaki About New Bishops Partnership to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and Peacemakers Arrested At Air Base In Holland

Dear Friends,

On this 78^th anniversary of the U.S. nuclear bombing of Nagasaki, 35 peacemakers from the DMV held a Noon-time nonviolent witness and prayer service outside the White House to commemorate this unspeakable atrocity, and that which occurred in Hiroshima on Aug. 6, to call on the powers that be and the nation to repent for the nuclear sin, abolish nuclear weapons, and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear weapons, and to recommit ourselves to the way of Gospel nonviolence and to working for a disarmed world where all the swords of our time are turned into plowshares and war is forever outlawed. (see attached photo) The prayer service, organized by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, took place on Pennsylvania Ave. in front of the White House, where a makeshift shrine, comprised of photos of the bombing’s victims and survivors, was created. Following a collective reading of the Apology Petition to the Japanese people, Scott Wright and Jean Stokan led a moving ritual involving people placing roses on the photos. See below a copy of the Prayer Service. I want to express gratitude for all who participated in this witness, including those who had reading and singing roles.

Here’s a piece that was published in the NCR regarding the witness. 
https://www.ncronline.org/news/catholics-mark-78th-anniversary-us-atomic-bombings-vigil-outside-white-house

I also want to take this opportunity to share some important breaking news. Today in Nagasaki,  where Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, NM and Archbishop Etienne of Seattle, WA are concluding their “Pilgimage of Peace” Delegation in Japan, an important announcement was made. https://www.ncronline.org/news/japan-anniversary-atomic-bombings-us-archbishops-urge-nuclear-disarmament“A Partnership for a World Without Nuclear Weapons From the Archbishops of Santa Fe, Seattle, Nagasaki, and Bishop of Hiroshima, has been formed. The opening sentence of the statement released by the four bishops reads: “On the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we, the bishops of four Catholic arch/dioceses in areas impacted by nuclear weapons, declare that we will begin working together to achieve a “world without nuclear weapons.” For the entire statement see:  https://files.ecatholic.com/17613/documents/2023/8/230809_Statement_PartnershipDioceses.pdf?t=1691588478000

Lastly, I want to share news that on Aug. 8, 10 peacemakers (6 from the U.S.) were arrested during a nonviolent action at Volkel Air Base in the Netherlands. Their message: NO (NEW) NUKES & STOP MILITARY C02 EMISSIONS. See:

http://www.nukeresister.org/2023/08/08/ten-activists-arrested-on-runway-of-volkel-air-base/

Also today, 16 activists (4 from the U.S.) were arrested in another action at Volkel AB. The theme of this witness: Digging For Life: For an End to Military C02 Emissions & the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons. See: http://www.nukeresister.org/2023/08/09/sixteen-activists-with-pink-shovels-arrested-at-volkel-air-base/#more-10353.

Deo Gratias for these and all actions occurring in our world to abolish nuclear weapons and war, 

end the climate crisis,and establish God’s reign of love, justice, peace and the Beloved Community.

In peace and hope,

Art

Prayer Service for Aug. 7 @ Pentagon–Aug. 9, 2023 @ White House

OPENING 

APOLOGY PETITION 

During our Prayer Service of Repentance in front of the White House on August 6, 2016, an Apology Petition was read and presented to Mr. Mimaki, a Hiroshima A-bomb survivor. Over 700 people signed the petition. In September 2016, Mr. Mimaki delivered the petition to the Mayor of Hiroshima and is now at the Hiroshima Peace Museum. Three years ago, to mark the 75th anniversary of the US atomic bombings of Japan, an updated Apology Petition was signed by over 240 people and sent to the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and to the Hibakusha organization in Japan. This petition was prepared by Scott Wright and Art Laffin and endorsed by a number of religious and peace groups.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki: An Apology–Envision the World Without Nuclear Weapons—August 6 and 9, 2020—75th Anniversary of the U.S. Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki  

        The 75th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is a time of remembering the horror, repenting the sin and reclaiming a future without nuclear weapons. It is a time to recommit ourselves to the work of disarming and dismantling the machinery of mass destruction and abolishing war.

        We unite in prayerful witness with people of faith and conscience across the globe to mark this historic anniversary. As citizens of the United States, we invite people to publicly ask God for forgiveness for the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which caused the immediate death of more than 200,000 people, and hundreds of thousands more who died in the aftermath as a result of radiation poisoning. We apologize to the people of Japan – and to the survivors of the bombing, the hibakusha – for our country’s bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and we ask forgiveness for these atrocities.

        Pope Paul VI, in his 1976 World Day of Peace Message, described the bombings as “a butchery of untold magnitude.” Pope Francis, who in 2017 condemned the possession of nuclear weapons as immoral, reminded us once more, during his 2019 visit to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, of “the unspeakable horror suffered in the flesh by the victims of the bombing and their families,” and reaffirmed his conviction that “a world without nuclear weapons is [both] possible and necessary.”

        Nuclear weapons are sinful and idolatrous. The mining, testing and deployment of these weapons have desecrated native lands and the Marshall and South Pacific Islands and have caused incalculable ecological devastation and early deaths of countless people exposed to nuclear radiation. Their research, production and deployment are a theft from the poor, and a crime against God’s creation, humanity and future generations. We repent for these sins and for the continued proliferation of nuclear weapons at the expense of unmet human needs. Further, we offer repentance for our nation’s possession and threatened use of nuclear weapons to enforce a world order based on systemic racism and the destruction of the cultural and biological diversity of our planet.

         We decry the fact that the U.S. government is committed to a 30-year upgrade of its nuclear arsenal at an estimated cost of $1.7 trillion. We denounce the Pentagon Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations stating that a limited nuclear war could be waged and won. We implore the U.S. to end its nuclear modernization program, renounce its first-use nuclear policy, and to sign and ratify the 2017 UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. We call on all Christians and people of good faith everywhere to refuse to participate in the production, maintenance, threatened use and use of these murderous weapons.

        We firmly resolve, with God’s grace and mercy, to reject the false idols of nuclear weapons, and to embrace the life-affirming work of abolishing these weapons of terror.

         As the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist has reset the Doomsday Clock to 100 seconds to midnight (now 90 seconds), let us heed the plea of the Hibakusha to the world: “Humanity and nuclear weapons cannot co-exist.” Now is the time to pursue non-violent alternatives to war and to lay the foundations for just peace; now is the time to restore justice for the poor and integrity to creation, and to seek a nuclear-free future for our children.

         On that day, the prophet reminds us, “God will rule over all nations and settle disputes for all peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not raise sword against nation; nor will they train for war anymore” (Is 2:4).

         In that spirit, we solemnly renew our commitment to that biblical vision and promise of peace and justice, when the world will finally be free from the scourge of war and the terror of nuclear weapons.

Read Excerpt of Testimony from Hiroshima Survivor, Setsuko Thurlow 

Read September 1945 Excerpt from Dorothy Day Condemning the U.S. Atomic Bombings  

Song: Genbaku O Yurusumagi– Never Again the A-Bomb by Ishiji Asada and Koki Kinoshita, 1955.

Reflection–Refrain–We Repent for the Nuclear Sin-Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now! 

SONG: I COME AND STAND – Dead Little Girl of Hiroshima

I come and stand at every door, But no one hears my silent prayer, I knock and yet remain unseen, For I am dead, for I am dead.

I’m only seven although I died, In Hiroshima long ago. I’m seven now as I was then, When children die they do not grow.

My hair was scorched by a swirling flame, My eyes grew dim, my eyes grew blind, Death came and turned my bones to dust, And that was scattered by the wind.

I need no fruit, I need no rice, I need no sweets nor even bread, I ask for nothing for myself, For I am dead, for I am dead.

All that I ask is that for peace, You work today, you work today, So that the children of this world, May live and grow and laugh and play.

LITANY OF REPENTANCE 

For the U.S. development, use, and threatened use of nuclear weapons, Forgive us O God 

For the over 200,000 people who died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a direct result of the U.S. nuclear bombings, Forgive us O God 

For the countless Japanese A-Bomb survivors who have suffered and died from the effects of nuclear radiation, Forgive us O God 

For all Native Americans who have died as a result from the mining of uranium on their sacred lands, 

Forgive us o God

For the unknown numbers of people who have suffered and died from nuclear testing in the South Pacific, Forgive us O God 

For workers in nuclear facilities who were exposed to radiation and who have suffered and died, 

Forgive us O God

For those living downwind from nuclear facilities who have contracted cancer and other illnesses and who have died, Forgive us O God 

For those prisoners and people with mental disabilities who were subjects of nuclear radiation experiments, Forgive us O God    

For the U.S. use of highly toxic radioactive depleted uranium weapons in Iraq, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and elsewhere which have claimed untold lives and have caused dramatic increases of cancer, leukemia and birth defects in each of the countries where these weapons have been used, Forgive us O God 

For the millions who needlessly suffered and died–past and present–because of the money and resources squandered on weapons and war instead of on programs to help eradicate poverty and preventable diseases, Forgive us O God 

For desecrating the earth and the environmental damage caused by the mining, testing and use of nuclear technology, Forgive us O God 

For the U.S. militarizing space and the dangerous use of nuclear technology in space,

Forgive us O God 

For the U.S. military being the world’s single biggest consumer of fossil fuels, and the single entity most responsible for destabilizing the Earth’s climate, Forgive us O God 

For placing our trust in weapons and mammon rather than in God, Forgive us O God

“SHADOW ON THE ROCK” by Daniel Berrigan, SJ

At Hiroshima there’s a museum 

and outside that museum there’s a rock, 

and on that rock there’s a shadow. 

That shadow is all that remains 

of the human being who stood there on August 6, 1945 

when the nuclear age began. 

In the most real sense of the word, 

that is the choice before us. 

We shall either end war and the nuclear arms race now in this generation,

or we will become Shadows On the Rock.

Today marks the anniversary of two Catholic martyrs killed by the Nazis. Read Quotes from 

St. Edith Stein and Blessed Franz Jagerstatter.

Closing Song: Vine and Fig Tree

Aug. 7th Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration Pentagon Witness–Please Come to White House on Aug. 9th from Noon-1:00 PM to Mark the Anniversary of U.S. Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki

Dear Friends, 

Twenty-Five peacemakers from the DMV held a nonviolent witness/prayer service at the Pentagon this morning to mark the 78^th anniversary of U.S. nuclear atrocities committed against Japan.

The witness was organized by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker.  See below my Opening and Reflection on the Nuclear Threat. 

Please join us at the White House on Wednesday, from August 9 from Noon-1:00 PM to commemorate the anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Nagasaki. (See Info Below).

Nagasaki, September 1945

In hope for a disarmed world,

Art

Opening by Art Laffin for Aug. 7, 2023 Pentagon Prayer Service
May the peace and love of God be with all of us today. My name is Art Laffin and, on behalf of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, I welcome you to this vigil and prayer service of remembrance, repentance and resistance. 

Aug. 6 and 9th marks the 78th anniversary of the unspeakable atrocities of the U.S. nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We come to the Pentagon/White House in a spirit of Gospel nonviolence to commemorate these sinful and criminal bombings, to repent for the nuclear sin, to remember all  victims of nuclearism, to resist ongoing nuclear war preparations, and to appeal to government officials, religious leaders and all people of goodwill to create a world without violence, injustice, weapons and war–a nonviolent world free of the triple evils that Dr. King proclaimed: racism, economic exploitation and poverty and militarism–and we also add environmental devastation. 
We are deeply grateful to all the groups who are participating in and supporting this witness today. They include: Pax Christi Metro-DC, Pax Christi USA, Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas – Justice Team,  Franciscan Action Network, Assisi Community,  Our Lady Queen of Peace (Arlington, VA), Eighth Day Faith Community, Anne Montgomery House, WILPF, and members of Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist Community. We stand in solidarity with people across the US and worldwide who are acting today to especially call on the U.S. and the other eight nuclear nations to ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons which entered into force in Jan. 2021 thereby making nuclear weapons illegal under international law.
We especially lift up the Hibakusha who appeal to the world to abolish all nuclear weapons. We remember friends who are acting at this time in the Netherlands and Germany calling for the removal and dismantling of U.S. nuclear weapons stored in those countries and in Europe. And we remember Archbishop Wester of Santa Fe, NM and Archbishop Etienne of Seattle, WA, who are on pilgrimage in Japan praying with the Bishops and wider church there and, with them, calling on the nuclear nations to abolish ALL nuclear weapons.      
On April 4, 2018, the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s martyrdom, the KBP7 declared during their plowshares action at the Kings Bay Trident base in St. Mary’s Georgia: “Nuclear weapons eviscerate the rule of law, enforce white supremacy, perpetuate endless war and environmental destruction, and ensure impunity for all manner of crimes against humanity. Dr. King said, ‘The ultimate logic of racism is genocide.’ We say, ‘The ultimate logic of Trident is omnicide.’” In 2017 Pope Francis stated that the possession of nuclear weapons is immoral and is to be firmly condemned. The A-Bomb Survivors (Hibakusha) plead to the world: “Humankind can’t coexist with nuclear weapons.” We invite all who work in the government and military, and all people of goodwill, to join with us and everyone worldwide who is working to abolish nuclear weapons. We pray and act to ensure that the mortal sin of using nuclear weapons will never be repeated!

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August 6-9, 2023 Reflection/Prayer on Nuclear Threat
Refrain: We Repent for the Nuclear Sin-Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now
The powers that be want us to believe that nuclear weapons were used to save American lives and end WWII. This is a fallacy! Both General Eisenhower, and Admiral Leahy, head of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff, opposed using the atomic bomb. They declared that Japan was already defeated and on the verge of surrender and, as Eisenhower stated, “that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary” and “no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives.”We Repent for the Nuclear Sin-Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now
According to Gar Alperovitz, in his compelling book, Atomic Diplomacy, nuclear weapons were used against the Japanese primarily for two reasons: “first, the U.S. wanted to hasten its victory over Japan without the aid of the Russians, who were about to enter the war; second, and most importantly, President Truman intended to threaten the Russians and warn them not to challenge U.S. plans for organizing the postwar world.”We Repent for the Nuclear Sin-Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now
The U.S. has never repented for using nuclear weapons. The violence unleashed at Hiroshima set in motion a trajectory of unrelenting violence by the U.S. in the wars of aggression that it has waged over the last seven decades in many countries, claiming untold lives. Moreover, the U.S. has continued to build even deadlier weapons which endanger all of creation. Beginning with the Manhattan Project in 1940, the U.S. has spent nearly $10 trillion on its nuclear weapons program.We Repent for the Nuclear Sin-Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now
On January 24, 2023, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists set the Doomsday Clock to 90 seconds before midnight, the closest to global catastrophe it has ever been. This is due to the existential threats of nuclear war and the climate crisis, the mounting dangers of the Ukraine war, bio- and cyber threats, nuclear proliferation, State-Sponsored Disinformation and Disruptive Technology. The Ukraine war has further exacerbated the nuclear peril between the two foremost nuclear powers as both Russian and U.S. nuclear arsenals are now on high alert. While the U.S. has always maintained a “first-use” nuclear weapons policy, Russia has publicly stated it would consider using nuclear weapons if it feels endangered by increased U.S. and NATO intervention in the Ukraine war.                                                We Repent for the Nuclear Sin-Abolish Nuclear Weapons NowAccording to the Federation of American Scientists, nine countries possess roughly 12,700 warheads. Approximately 90 percent of all nuclear warheads are owned by the U.S. and Russia (Russia has 5,977; the U.S. has 5,428). U.S. nuclear weapons are also stored at six military bases in the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Belgium and Turkey. Furthermore, U.S. and NATO missile defense systems ring Russia and China, increasing already heightened tensions. The U.S. and Russia, whose nuclear forces are on high alert, are developing hypersonic weapons that could become nuclear capable.                We Repent for the Nuclear Sin-Abolish Nuclear Weapons NowDuring the Trump administration, the U.S. dramatically increased the nuclear danger by threatening to use nuclear weapons against adversaries on several occasions. Moreover, the U.S. withdrew from the Iran Nuclear Deal and the INF Treaty with Russia and carried out a subcritical nuclear test, a flagrant violation of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. In its 2019 Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations, policy makers declared that a limited nuclear war could be waged and won. This doctrine was the latest manifestation of a long-held existing Pentagon policy positing that the U.S. must be prepared at all times to use whatever military force is necessary, including nuclear weapons, to protect its vital interests in the world. Also, in February 2020, the “lower-yield” W76-2 nuclear warhead on Trident missiles was deployed, a smaller warhead the military believes is more usable. Additionally, a new U.S. space force was created to oversee military control and domination of space.           We Repent for the Nuclear Sin-Abolish Nuclear Weapons NowOn March 28, 2022 the Biden administration transmitted to Congress a classified Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) which basically reaffirms preexisting U.S. nuclear doctrine, including refusal to adopt a “no first-use” nuclear policy. President Biden is committed to the modernization of nuclear forces, as evidenced by a proposed 2024 nuclear weapons budget request of $56 billion. The U.S. nuclear arsenal upgrade, now underway, is estimated to cost $1.7 trillion over the next several decades violates the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. This deadly venture not only endangers the world but represents a direct theft from the poor everywhere. As a leading nuclear superpower, the U.S. practices a double standard by calling on other nations to disarm while, at the same time, it refuses to disarm and instead is rapidly expanding its own arsenal.                                                                                                  We Repent for the Nuclear Sin-Abolish Nuclear Weapons NowOn July 7, 2017, at the conclusion of a special “UN Conference To Negotiate a Legally Binding Instrument to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons,” 122 countries voted in favor of a historic treaty to legally prohibit nuclear weapons. On January 22, 2021, the TPNW went into force, thereby making nuclear weapons illegal under international law. To date 68 countries have ratified the TPNW. However, all the nuclear armed states have refused to sign it. We call on the U.S., the only country to have ever used nuclear weapons, to ratify this treaty and lead the way to total worldwide nuclear disarmament. We Repent for the Nuclear Sin-Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now
Pope Francis declared: “Nor can we fail to be genuinely concerned by the catastrophic humanitarian and environmental effects of any employment of nuclear devices. If we also take into account the risk of an accidental detonation as a result of error of any kind, the threat of their use, as well as their very possession, is to be firmly condemned…The total elimination of nuclear weapons is…a moral and humanitarian imperative of our time.”We Repent for the Nuclear Sin-Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now
Nuclear weapons are immoral and illegal. They can never be used under any circumstance. This means that anyone in the military chain of command must refuse orders to ever use these or other similar murderous weapons. We Repent for the Nuclear Sin-Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now

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“Let all the souls here rest in peace, for we shall not repeat the evil”.

(Epitaph at bottom of the Hiroshima Peace Park Memorial Cenotaph and Peace Flame to remember all the victims of the atomic bombings)

Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration Peace Witness at Pentagon and White House

When: Monday, August 7, 2023 @ Pentagon 7-8 AM

Where: Designated Protest Zone on the Southeast Side of Pentagon (Take South exit from Pentagon Metro station–Walk a short distance on sidewalk toward South Parking Lot–vigil site is on left behind bicycle fences)

When: Wednesday, August 9 (Anniversary of the U.S. Nuclear Bombing of Nagasaki): Noon-1 PM

Where: Outside the White House on Pennsylvania Ave.(North side) 

Sponsored by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker