By Jennifer Kryszak, Director of Strategic Planning for the Franciscan Peace Center

“We must move beyond the mentality of appearing to be concerned but not having the courage needed to produce substantial changes.” Francis, Laudate Deum, 56

Learning about ecological and social justice issues and their multiple intersections is definitely a journey. Consider nuclear disarmament. I think I am correct in saying that many people in our society don’t think about nuclear weapons, don’t think that they are a current issue, or don’t think they are related to other ecological and social justice issues. News or conversation about nuclear weapons often remain focused on national defense; however, they should attend to the myth of nuclear deterrence and the enormous cost of producing and maintaining these weapons. Moreover, the production and testing of nuclear weapons impacts vulnerable communities and the environment. Funds and resources are siphoned to their development and maintenance that could be used to ensure the flourishing of communities.

This cost is evident in the United States federal budget’s emphasis on militarism. In their “FACT SHEET: Your 2024 Tax Receipt.” Lindsay Kohgarian and Alliyah Lusuegro note that the average taxpayer paid more for militarism than for beneficial social programs in 2023. For example, $346 went for K-12 education whereas $2,974 went for the Pentagon, including $1,748 for Pentagon contractors – not the troops who often qualify for food stamps. $10.84 paid for energy efficiency and renewable energy programs while $12 went to SpaceX. Aren’t our children and the environment worth more to us than militarism and the profits of companies? If our finances demonstrate our commitments, then the United States federal government clearly asserts the value of violence and war over that of nonviolence and peace.

In Laudate Deum, Pope Francis addresses the role of governments in responding to the interrelated ecological and social crises. He assesses the progress, challenges, and failures from the 1992 Rio de Janeiro Conference to the plans for the Conference of the Parties in Dubai (COP28) (Laudate Deum 44-60). While Francis observes some of the successes of the COPs, he outlines particular changes that need to be taken to truly respond to the ecological crisis. Francis asserts, “If there is sincere interest in making COP28 a historic event that honours and ennobles us as human beings, then one can only hope for binding forms of energy transition that meet three conditions: that they be efficient, obligatory and readily monitored. This, in order to achieve the beginning of a new process marked by three requirements: that it be drastic, intense and count on the commitment of all.” (Laudate Deum 59). Francis is clear. Governments need to commit, be held accountable, and take action.

One organization that calls us to attend deeply to militarism and nuclear disarmament is Pax Christi USA. Their Bread Not Stones campaign draws attention to the emphasis on military spending in the United States budget. In their statement launching Bread Not Stones 2022, Pax Christi calls for “a new peacebuilding foreign policy based on just and environmentally sustainable strategies, a fairer distribution of wealth between all people, and the protection of the human dignity of all.” The initial campaign focused on the federal government. In 2023, the campaign focused on the United States Catholic bishops and their silence on military spending. As Tom Cordaro notes in “Always pray and never give up,” “Ninety-nine bishops in 65 dioceses were contacted, and 20 have signed.” Cordaro emphasizes the role of lay Catholics in this effort and includes their reasons for contacting their bishops and hopes for the future. Describing the roles of the bishop in church teaching, Cordaro asserts, “When bishops dismiss or brush-off without adequate explanation attempts by their flock to urge them to address important issues that impact all those living in their diocese, it is a dereliction of their primary role as teacher and preacher of the Word of God. . . . What these bishops need to understand is that by their silence, they speak.” In these campaigns, Pax Christi USA and many Catholics across the country challenged our federal government and church leaders to demonstrate a commitment to nonviolence and peace.

Some of our leaders likewise challenge us to reconsider our own commitments. For example, the Most Reverend John C. Wester Archbishop of Santa Fe calls us to work for nuclear disarmament and invest in our communities and environment. In his “Living in the Light of Christ’s Peace: A Conversation Toward Nuclear Disarmament,” Wester reflects on his own journey toward a commitment to nuclear disarmament. He concludes, “We should end all these massive financial investments for building and maintaining these weapons of mass destruction – investments which make only a few individuals and corporations enormously wealthy – and instead invest those massive funds in education, healthcare, environmental cleanup, addressing the climate threat, rebuilding our infrastructure, and providing vaccinations for everyone everywhere against future pandemics” (30). This challenge is for all of us to hear and respond to as we continue to learn about the intersection of diverse ecological and social justice issues.

As we reflect, let us consider our own riches. Where do we invest our time, talent, and treasure? How can we commit these to calling our leaders to action for ecological and social justice ?

To learn more about nuclear weapons, register to attend “A Conversation with Annie Jacobsen,” a webinar with investigative journalist and New York Times bestselling author of Nuclear War: A Scenario, on Wednesday, May 29 at 7:00 p.m. CST. The Franciscan Peace Center is proudly cosponsoring this event, which is being organized and hosted by Back from the Brink: Bringing Communities Together to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, the national grassroots nuclear weapons abolition campaign.

Test your knowledge of nuclear weapons in the Franciscan Peace Center’s Nuclear Weapons Quiz.

TAKE ACTION: Support the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

In January, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved their iconic Doomsday Clock ahead to 90 seconds before midnight, the closest it's ever come to symbolic global apocalypse. Back from the Brink urges us to tell our representatives to co-sponsor H. Res 77, a resolution that calls on the United States to embrace the goals and provisions of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and to adopt Back from the Brink's common sense policies for preventing nuclear war. TAKE ACTION