THE organisation Justice & Peace Scotland have reaffirmed their opposition to nuclear weapons and have marked the 40th anniversary of the Scottish Bishops 1982 landmark statement entitled Peace and Disarmament.
A video, recorded in conjunction with Sancta Familia Media, features clergy, young people and laity reaffirming their opposition to nuclear weapons, and the reasons for their stance.
The video features Archbishop William Nolan (Glasgow), Archbishop Leo Cushley (Edinburgh), Bishop John Keenan (Diocese of Paisley), Bishop Brian McGee (Diocese of Argyll and the Isles) as well as young people from every Catholic diocese in Scotland.
Archbishop Nolan has long voiced his opposition to the arms trade and nuclear weapons. He said in a statement: "In March 1982 the Scottish Bishops published a pastoral letter on Peace and Disarmament.
“In this letter they challenged not just the use of nuclear weapons, something the church has always condemned, but they challenged also the very notion of deterrence and the morality of deterrence.
“That challenge was not accepted at the time but now more than ever the church has come to recognise that deterrence is something which is unacceptable.
"Unacceptable also is the fact that 40 years on these weapons still exist but also that countries are spending vast sums of money making new and worse weapons of destruction — money, resources and personnel that could all be better used building up peace rather than in weapons of war.”
