Today, August 6, marks the 79th Anniversary of the Bombing of Hiroshima, followed three days later by the bombing of Nagasaki. An estimate of the bombings' combined death toll exceeds 200,000 people. Today, the world arsenal of nuclear weapons adds up to 12,512 warheads, with a total power 65,000 times greater than was dropped on Japan. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has kept the Doomsday Clock at ninety seconds to midnight for another year, the closest to midnight the clock has ever been, due to among other things the increased threat of nuclear disaster.
Pray
Pray and share the Prayer for Disarmament by Kim Vanderheiden of Pax Christi Northern California.
Watch the inspirational video "Let Us Build a World of Peace" from the Maryknoll Lay Missioners
Study
Maryknoll Sister Kathleen Reiley, who serves in Japan, responded to the call for volunteers in the wake of the earthquake, tsunami, and Fukushima Nuclear Plant disaster. Read more about her journey in the Maryknoll Magazine article "A Voice for Nuclear Victims."
Act
Click here to send a message to your members of Congress asking for the extension and expansion of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act through the website of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) provides partial restitution to victims of radiation exposure from from U.S. nuclear weapons testing and production. While survivors deal with the fallout decades later, RECA expired in June of 2024. Tell Congress to bring it back.
