Seize the Moment: Archbishop Mamberti on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Disarmament

(October 1, 2009) Nations need trust and security to get past the lasting effects of the Cold War-era nuclear arms race, observed a Vatican official at the United Nations. Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Vatican relations with states, addressed the U.N. Security Council on September 24, urging the group to "seize this moment" and become "a valid advocate in the cause of reaching a world free of nuclear weapons." The prelate noted that U.N. efforts to curb nuclear armament has been at a case-specific level, but that it is time for a global agreement on arms control. "Nuclear weapons assault life on the planet, they assault the planet itself, and in so doing they assault the process of the continuing development of the planet," the archbishop said. "In their nature, nuclear weapons are not only baneful but also completely fallacious. "Taking into account that nuclear deterrence pertains to the Cold War era and is no longer justifiable in our days, the Holy See strongly advocates re-directing those military doctrines which continue to rely on nuclear weapons as a means of security and defence or even measure of power, which have evidently shown to be among the main causes preventing genuine nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, thus jeopardizing the very integrity of the Non-Proliferation Treaty." Archbishop Mamberti affirmed that "today's world demands a courageous leadership" in reducing nuclear arms to "complete zero.""In order to achieve this," he acknowledged, "states need trust and security. And he added: "Disarmament and development are interrelated and complementary.”