Vatican City: As the world pauses to mark eight decades since the atomic devastation of Hiroshima, Pope Leo XIV offered a poignant reflection during his General Audience on Wednesday. Calling for a future rooted in justice, dialogue, and fraternity, the Pope warned against clinging to false notions of security built on nuclear deterrence and warfare.
“Let us not forget,” the Pope urged, “those tragic events of Hiroshima and Nagasaki remain a timeless warning of the catastrophic consequences of war, especially when armed with nuclear weapons.” His words come as the global community commemorates the loss of over 140000 lives in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and prepares to remember the bombing of Nagasaki just three days later.
In a solemn message addressed to the Bishop of Hiroshima, Pope Leo reaffirmed his spiritual closeness to the survivors and their descendants, acknowledging the physical, psychological, and societal scars that still persist. He prayed for those who suffered not just in 1945 but in the long shadow cast by nuclear war in the decades that followed.
Amid a world still grappling with armed conflicts and global mistrust, the Pope denounced the ongoing belief that mutual destruction brings stability. “Peace cannot be built on threats,” he stated. “True security lies in justice, in the courage to engage in dialogue, and in the embrace of fraternity.”
Meanwhile, in Hiroshima, tens of thousands gathered at the Peace Memorial Park for the annual Mass for Peace, joined by representatives from 120 nations and regions. At exactly 8:15 a.m., the moment the atomic bomb detonated, the city fell into a collective moment of silence.
The Pope’s message adds to the chorus of voices calling for nuclear disarmament, and reinforces his consistent appeal for the protection of human dignity over militaristic ambition.
As the anniversaries of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are observed this week, Pope Leo’s voice reminds the global community that the memory of suffering must fuel the mission for peace, now more urgently than ever.iu