Paris, France, Feb 4, 2010 / 19:50 pm
Archbishop of Baltimore Edwin O’Brien on Wednesday reiterated the Catholic Church’s condemnation of “total war” and called for courage in efforts towards a future “free of the nuclear threat” at a summit aimed at the elimination of nuclear weapons.
His remarks came at the Global Zero Summit in Paris, which met from February 2-4, a press release from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) says. The attendees, who were political, military, business and religious leaders, numbered 200.
The archbishop cited the Second Vatican Council’s condemnation of total war in its Pastoral Constitution “Gaudium et Spes”:
“Any act of war aimed indiscriminately at the destruction of entire cities of extensive areas along with their population is a crime against God and man himself. It merits unequivocal and unhesitating condemnation.”