There is confusion among Roman Catholics about what the Church teaches
I write to you as a pastor and as a fellow disciple of Jesus Christ, one who shares your concern for the moral challenges of our time. As Archbishop of Santa Fe, I have prayed deeply about the continued existence of nuclear weapons and what our faith requires of us in response. I am convinced that this issue is not peripheral to our Catholic life—it goes to the very heart of who we are as a people committed to the Gospel of peace.
The Church teaches, and has always taught, that every human person is created in the image and likeness of God (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC], 1700). From this foundational truth flows the absolute dignity of human life. Nuclear weapons, by their very nature, stand in direct contradiction to this dignity. Their destructive force is indiscriminate, incapable of distinguishing between combatant and noncombatant. As the Catechism reminds us, “every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities… is a crime against God and man” (CCC, 2314). Nuclear weapons represent the extreme embodiment of this moral disorder.
For a time, the Church tolerated nuclear deterrence as a provisional measure. Pope John Paul II acknowledged in 1982 that deterrence might be morally acceptable “as a step on the way toward a progressive disarmament.” Yet even then, this acceptance was conditional and temporary, never an endorsement of the indefinite possession of such weapons. Today, we must recognize that this “step” has become a stumbling block. Deterrence has not led us to disarmament; instead, it has entrenched a system built on fear.
Pope Benedict XVI warned that peace cannot be founded on the threat of mutual destruction. True peace, he insisted, must be rooted in truth, justice, charity, and freedom—the very pillars articulated by Pope John XXIII in his landmark encyclical Pacem in Terris. In that document, written in the shadow of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Pope John XXIII spoke with prophetic clarity: in an age of nuclear weapons, it is irrational to believe that war can be used as an instrument of justice. He called for a complete ban on such weapons, grounded in a recognition of our shared humanity and our common destiny.
More recently, Pope Francis has developed this teaching further, declaring not only the use but also the possession of nuclear weapons to be morally unacceptable. This marks a significant and Spirit-led development in the Church’s moral reflection. The Holy Father reminded us that the resources devoted to nuclear arsenals are resources denied to the poor, the marginalized, and the care of our common home. In this way, nuclear weapons are not only a threat to peace; they are an affront to justice and to the stewardship entrusted to us by God.
Pope John XXIII spoke with prophetic clarity: in an age of nuclear weapons, it is irrational to believe that war can be used as an instrument of justice.
Even in our own time, the voice of the Church continues to call us forward. Pope Leo XIV has emphasized the moral urgency of multilateral disarmament and the need for renewed international cooperation. His teaching underscores that peace is not merely the absence of war, but the presence of right relationships—among nations, among peoples, and with God.
This vision is not new. It echoes the witness of the early Church Fathers, who lived in a world marked by violence and empire, yet proclaimed a radically different way. Writers such as Tertullian and Origen rejected participation in violence, emphasizing instead the call to live as peacemakers in imitation of Christ. While the Church’s understanding of just war developed over time, this early witness continues to challenge us to examine whether our reliance on weapons of mass destruction is compatible with the Gospel.
In light of this rich tradition, we must confront a difficult truth: the continued possession of nuclear weapons is not morally sustainable. It reflects a failure to trust in the ways of peace to which Christ calls us. It perpetuates a global system of fear, where security is sought not through solidarity, but through the capacity for annihilation.
For those of us in the United States, this teaching carries particular weight. As citizens of a nation with a vast nuclear arsenal, we bear a special responsibility. Conversion, as I have often said, is not only personal but social. It requires us to examine the structures of sin in which we participate, often unknowingly.
What, then, are we called to do?
First, we must form our consciences in light of the Church’s teaching. This means engaging deeply with Scripture, the Catechism, and the social teaching of the Church. It means taking seriously the words of the popes and allowing them to challenge our assumptions.
Second, we must advocate for change. The Catechism teaches that citizens have both the right and the duty to contribute to the good of society (cf. CCC, 2239). This includes supporting policies that move us toward verifiable nuclear disarmament, strengthening international agreements, and promoting diplomatic solutions to conflict.
Third, we must pray. Peace is ultimately a gift from God, but it is a gift that requires our cooperation. Through prayer, we allow God to transform our hearts, freeing us from fear and opening us to the possibility of reconciliation.
Finally, we must bear witness to hope. The task before us is daunting, and progress may seem slow. Yet our hope is not in human effort alone, but in the God who makes all things new. As Christians, we are called to live as if peace is possible—because, in Christ, it is.
The question we face is not simply political or strategic; it is profoundly spiritual. Will we continue to rely on weapons that threaten God’s creation, or will we embrace the path of peace laid before us by Christ and his Church? Guided by the wisdom of the Magisterium, inspired by the witness of the saints, and strengthened by God’s grace, let us choose the way of life.
Notes (Magisterial References):
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, §§1700, 2308–2314, 2239.
- John Paul II, Address to the United Nations, 1982.
- John XXIII, Pacem in Terris (1963).
- Francis, Address in Hiroshima, 2019.
- Benedict XVI, World Day of Peace Messages.
- Early Church Fathers: Tertullian, De Corona; Origen, Contra Celsum.
