Pontiff Wants Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy

CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, JULY 29, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI urged nuclear disarmament, suggesting that resources thus saved could be used to help the poor. The Pope said this today before praying the midday Angelus with crowds gathered at Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of Rome. His address recalled the 50th anniversary of the founding of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Recalling the second article of the agency's statutes, the Holy Father observed that among its objectives, this U.N. agency seeks "to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health, and prosperity throughout the world."

"The Holy See, fully approving of the IAEA's goal, has been a member from the organization's foundation and continues to support its activity," the Pontiff explained to the pilgrims, many of whom remained in the piazza in front of the palace because of the lack of space in the courtyard. Benedict XVI continued, "The epochal changes of the last 50 years are evidence of how, in the difficult crossroads at which humanity finds itself, the commitment to encourage the nonproliferation of nuclear arms, to promote a progressive and agreed-upon nuclear disarmament, and to favor the peaceful and safe use of nuclear technology for authentic development -- respectful of the environment and always attentive to the most disadvantaged populations -- is always relevant and urgent." The Bishop of Rome desired "the success of the efforts of those who work to pursue the three objectives with determination and the intention to make things such that the resources which would be saved could then be employed in projects of development capable of benefiting all their people, especially the poor."

Citing the Catechism of the Catholic Church, he re-emphasized how in the place of "the arms race there must be substituted a common effort to mobilize resources toward objectives of moral, cultural and economic development, redefining the priorities and hierarchies of values." The Pope asked that "scientific and technological knowledge be used with a sense of responsibility and for the common good, in complete respect for international law." He concluded his address praying "that men live in peace and all feel as brothers, sons of one Father: God."
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