New York: The Holy See has issued a stark warning against the rise of “aggressive nuclear rhetoric,” urging world leaders to recommit to dialogue, disarmament, and the protection of communities still suffering from the devastating legacy of nuclear testing.
Speaking at a high-level United Nations meeting on Thursday to mark the International Day Against Nuclear Tests, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Vatican’s Permanent Observer to the UN, reminded delegates that eight decades have passed since the first nuclear detonation. That event, he said, “unleashed an unprecedented destructive force” and continues to cast “a long shadow over humanity.”
Archbishop Caccia lamented that over 2,000 nuclear tests have been carried out since 1945, with consequences that remain painfully visible. Indigenous communities, women, children, and unborn generations, he noted, have borne the disproportionate burden of radiation exposure. “The health and dignity of many continue to be affected in silence, and all too often without redress,” he said, calling for the international community to acknowledge its moral obligation toward victims.
The Vatican envoy expressed deep concern that global trends are moving away from responsibility and toward escalation. He pointed to ballooning military budgets and the pursuit of ever more advanced weaponry, which he said are being prioritized “at the expense of human development and the promotion of the common good.” The archbishop warned that such investments not only deepen global insecurity but also betray the shared duty of nations to safeguard peace.
Quoting Pope Francis, Archbishop Caccia insisted that the world must never normalize war or place its trust in arsenals of destruction. “The temptation to rely on powerful and sophisticated weapons must be firmly rejected,” he said, framing nuclear disarmament as both a strategic imperative and a moral necessity. He reaffirmed the Holy See’s support for multilateral agreements such as the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and the Treaty on the Prohibition of nuclear weapons.
In closing, Archbishop Caccia called for greater international solidarity with communities still grappling with the long-term consequences of nuclear tests. He underscored that reinforcing the global ban on nuclear explosions is “an essential step toward genuine and lasting peace.”
As the UN observed its annual day of remembrance, the Vatican’s message was clear: disarmament is not only a policy goal but a moral obligation one that demands urgent action in an era of rising nuclear tensions.