Ottawa, Canada, Apr 12, 2004 / 22:00 pm
Canadian church leaders are trying to convince the Canadian government not to participate in a ballistic missile defence (BMD) system, which the United States plans to launch this fall.
BMD systems “fail to counter the nuclear threat and [they] precipitate further insecurities,” said church leaders in a letter to Prime Minister Paul Martin last month.
They added that BMD systems “only intensify nuclear threat” and create “a dangerous and cyclical defense-versus-offence dynamic”, reported Canadian Catholic News. Church leaders warned that Russia and China would move to counter any capabilities that the proposed BMD system might one day deliver.
The Canadian Council of Churches issued the letter March 15. It has 20 signatories, including the president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Brendan O’Brien.