Building a World Without Nuclear Weapons: An Urgent Imperative
A Conversation with Annie Jacobsen
May 24, 2024
A Letter from Pax Christi
Dear Friends in Peace,
Four months ago, we at Pax Christi Massachusetts, with Pax Christi USA, offered an online forum titled “Building a World Without Nuclear Weapons: An Urgent Imperative,” featuring Archbishop John Wester, Marie.Dennis, and Dr. Ira Helfand. We’re so grateful that your organization agreed to co-sponsor it. With the help of our 66 co-sponsors, about 2000 people have viewed the forum, either live on Jan. 27 or later on Pax Christi USA’s YouTube channel. This is encouraging.
It is now time to spread the forum even further, as alarm increases because of the increased existential threat of a nuclear catastrophe as a result of the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. It is important that ordinary citizens take serious steps to further stigmatize and demand the elimination of these weapons. There is reason for hope if a widespread citizen movement demands action and convinces our leaders that the time is Now. That’s where you come in.
We have enclosed several cards that provide a QR code that accesses the forum recording. [Cards and QR codes not available here; check the highlighted items above instead.] Please offer [these links] to others who might benefit from viewing the program, perhaps adding your contact info. One example for distribution is to offer one to your physician, calling attention to the humanitarian consequences of nuclear war. The enclosed article, detailing these concerns, was published in September 2023 in 150 medical journals, including The New England Journal of Medicine. This is only one possibility. The important thing is to promote conversation and come up with your own ideas for distribution.
You can also find the recording of the forum by web searching its title, “Building a World Without Nuclear Weapons: An Urgent Imperative.” We encourage you to check Pax Christi USA’s website for upcoming events regarding nuclear disarmament. One event of particular importance is Back from the Brink’s “A Conversation with Annie Jacobsen” on May 29. Annie is author of the NYT bestseller, Nuclear War: A Scenario. Again, you can web search the event title.
Thank you so much for your efforts to further the cause of peace. We are all in this together, and together, we shall overcome!
Peace,
Pat Ferrone and Barbara Allaire
For Pax Christi Massachusetts
A dedicated team produced the online Jan 27, 2024 forum “Building a World Without Nuclear Weapons: An Urgent Imperative” by Pax Christi MA and Pax Christi USA with 66 co-sponsors
Featuring: Marie Dennis, Catholic Nonviolence Initiative; Dr. Ira Helfand, IPPNW, PSR; Archbishop John Wester, Santa Fe, NM