Pope’s Nuclear Call
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By calling for a global ban on the proliferation of nuclear weapons (Jan. 14), Pope John Paul II has sent the world a message of utmost importance.
His recent “state of the world” speech mentioned a number of troublesome problems--but in terms of catastrophic consequences none can compare with the nuclear threat that continues to hang over our heads. As a Marine intelligence officer during World War II, I saw the total devastation of two Japanese cities, each by one atomic bomb. Nuclear weapons have 1,000 times the destructive power of their atomic ancestors; a fact far too little appreciated by most people.
A medical metaphor might help clarify what the pope is trying to tell us: Nuclear proliferation is a deadly cancer on the global body politic--a potentially fatal malady that must be kept from metastasizing. Let us hope that this papal wake-up call will be heeded before it’s too late.
HAROLD WILLENS
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