from Art LaffinAugust 6, 2025
Dear Friends,
Early this morning of August 6, over 30 peacemakers from the DMV area held a nonviolent witness/commemoration prayer service at the Pentagon to mark the 80th anniversary of U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The witness was organized by the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker and co-sponsored by Pax Christi USA, Pax Christi Metro DC-Baltimore, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, Little Friends for Peace, Isaiah Project, Assisi Community, Norfolk Catholic Worker and the Hampton Roads Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.
During this prayer service of Remembrance, Repentance and Resistance, we prayed for the victims and survivors of these unspeakable nuclear atrocities, and called on the nation to repent for the nuclear sin and abolish war and nuclear weapons (see Prayer Service below). Our witness was in solidarity with similar actions worldwide taking place at this time, and all who are calling for total nuclear abolition and that the U.S. and other nuclear nations ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. We especially lifted up those U.S. Catholics who are now in Japan to participate in a Pilgrimage of Peace fostering prayer, dialogue, and global advocacy for nuclear disarmament. Led by Archbishop Wester of Santa Fe, NM, other participating prelates include Cardinal Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal McElroy, Archbishop of Washington, D.C., and Archbishop Paul D. Etienne of Seattle. Organized under the theme of the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year, “Pilgrims of Hope,” the delegation is accompanied by faculty and students from U.S. Catholic universities. The pilgrimage is guided by the imperative of Pope Francis to “remember, journey together, and protect,” especially relevant amid today’s global instability and renewed nuclear threats.
As we gathered to begin the witness in the designated protest area, we displayed photos of the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and banners next to the fence and sidewalk where civilians and soldiers pass by on their way into the building. After a brief opening statement, Stephen Niamke read from Mark’s Gospel the account of the transfiguration of Jesus, as today is also the Feast of the Transfiguration. We then read together an updated Apology Petition to the people of Japan. More than 500 people and 60 organizations have signed this Petition to the Japanese people. https://paxchristiusa.org/2025/07/10/apology-petition-to-the-people-of-japan-on-the-80th-anniversary-of-the-us-atomic-bombings/ Also, the Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal has adapted and translated the apology petition into French and presented it to the Japanese consulate yesterday.
Kathy Boylan then read a harrowing excerpt of Hiroshima survivor Setsuko Thurlow’s acceptance speech for the 2017 ICAN Nobel Peace Prize. Steve Baggarly and Paula Bishton read a riveting excerpt from Annie Jacobsen’s book “Nuclear War: A Scenario,” which describes what would happen in Washington, D.C. should the Pentagon be a target of a 1-megaton thermonuclear weapon, as well as the nuclear winter that would result from a full-scale war between the U.S. and Russia. Bill Frankel Streit, and Merwyn and Kirstin DeMello read a reflection on the decision to use the Bomb, the perils of nuclear weapons and the moral necessity to ban them (see Reflection/Prayer on the Nuclear Threat below). Dan O’Laughlin and James Martone led a Litany of Repentance, and Rico Dalida read Dan Berrigan’s poem “Shadow on the Rock.”
We then formed a circle to offer a blessing over Bill Frankel Streit and Steve Baggarly as they prepared to walk to the main entrance to continue the witness. Wearing sackcloth, they proceeded with others from the designated protest site to walk towards the main entrance. Bill and Steve then poured ashes in front of one of the main checkpoints. Paul Magno read a statement prepared by Steve explaining this prayerful sackcloth and ashes witness. Pentagon police, who had already closed one checkpoint, then closed the one where the action took place and rerouted workers to another entrance. Three warnings were given to everyone to disperse or be arrested. Bill and Steve remained and were taken into custody. The others returned to the protest area and had a closing circle. Bill and Steve were taken to the Pentagon Police processing center and subsequently released. They were charged with “disobeying a lawful order” and “preservation of property,” and given an October 16th court date in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia.
I want to express great gratitude to everyone who attended this witness, did readings and led prayers, and to Bill and Steve for their action, as well as for those who could not attend and who expressed their prayerful solidarity.
In hope for a disarmed world,
Art
ACTION STATEMENT
On this 80th anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima, we come in sack cloth and ashes to repent of the sins of nuclear war and preparations for nuclear war. We come to the Pentagon where orders to launch nuclear weapons would go out through the chain of command—and under which lays the National Military Command Center, the primary command and control center in a nuclear war.
We come because the story of nuclear weapons will have an ending and it is up to us what that ending will be. Will it be the end of nuclear weapons or the end of us? We must choose one.
If we choose the end of nuclear weapons, we must begin with repentance for vaporizing, burning and irradiating to death over 200,000 Japanese in seconds, on both August 6th in Hiroshima and August 9th in Nagasaki.
As long as we believe that it was necessary to drop those bombs—mostly on women, children and the elderly—we can believe that the next nuclear war will be necessary as well; only next time it will mean the end of civilization as we know it.
We come in sackcloth and ashes calling our nation to repent and believe in the gospel. We must admit our sin of having used nuclear weapons on human beings 80 years ago today, and of having rehearsed the end of the world every day since. We must repent of even having nuclear weapons in a world filled with children.
This affront to God, humanity and all of creation must end today. Today the United States can reverse course and begin to make amends by leading the world in a nuclear disarmament race, embracing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and rallying the other nuclear armed states to do the same. Then human potential and national treasures can be redirected toward meeting critical human needs.
The alternative is a world in ashes.
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Prayer Service for August 6, 2025
OPENING
Feast of Transfiguration Gospel Reading– Mark 9:2-8
APOLOGY PETITION (Read Together)
Read Excerpt of Hiroshima Survivor Testimony
Read Excerpt from “Nuclear War—A Scenario” by Annie Jacobsen
Reflection–Refrain–We Repent for the Nuclear Sin-Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now!
SONG: I COME AND STAND – Dead Little Girl of Hiroshima
I come and stand at every door, But no one hears my silent prayer, I knock and yet remain unseen, For I am dead, for I am dead.
I’m only seven although I died in Hiroshima long ago. I’m seven now as I was then, When children die they do not grow.
My hair was scorched by a swirling flame, My eyes grew dim, my eyes grew blind, Death came and turned my bones to dust, And that was scattered by the wind.
I need no fruit, I need no rice, I need no sweets nor even bread, I ask for nothing for myself, For I am dead, I am dead.
All that I ask is that for peace, You work today, you work today, So that the children of this world, May live and grow and laugh and play.
LITANY OF REPENTANCE
For the U.S. development, use, and threatened use of nuclear weapons, Forgive us O God
For the over 200,000 people who died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a direct result of the U.S. nuclear bombings, Forgive us O God
For the countless Japanese A-Bomb survivors who have suffered and died from the effects of nuclear radiation, Forgive us O God
For all Native Americans who have died as a result from the mining of uranium on their sacred lands,
Forgive us God
For the unknown numbers of people who have suffered and died from nuclear testing in the South Pacific, Forgive us O God
For workers in nuclear facilities who were exposed to radiation and who have suffered and died,
Forgive us O God
For those living downwind from nuclear facilities who contracted cancer and other illnesses and who have died, Forgive us O God
For those prisoners and people with mental disabilities who were subjects of nuclear radiation experiments, Forgive us O God
For the U.S. use of highly toxic radioactive depleted uranium weapons in Iraq, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and elsewhere which have claimed untold lives and have caused dramatic increases of cancer, leukemia and birth defects in each of the countries where these weapons have been used, Forgive us O God
For the millions who have suffered and died–past and present–because of the money/resources squandered on nuclear weapons and war instead of on programs to help eradicate poverty and preventable diseases, Forgive us O God
For desecrating the earth and the environmental damage caused by mining, testing and use of nuclear technology, Forgive us O God
For the U.S. militarizing space and the dangerous use of nuclear technology in space, Forgive us O God
For the U.S. military being the world’s single biggest consumer of fossil fuels, and the single entity most responsible for destabilizing the Earth’s climate, Forgive us O God
For U.S. complicity in Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, Forgive us O God
For placing our trust in weapons and mammon rather than in God, Forgive us O God
“SHADOW ON THE ROCK” by Daniel Berrigan, SJ
At Hiroshima there’s a museum
and outside that museum there’s a rock,
and on that rock there’s a shadow.
That shadow is all that remains
of the human being who stood there on August 6, 1945
when the nuclear age began.
In the most real sense of the word,
that is the choice before us.
We shall either end war and the nuclear arms race now in this generation,
or we will become Shadows On the Rock.
Recitation of the Lord’s Prayer
Closing Song: Vine and Fig Tree
Concluding Circle
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August 6-9, 2025 Reflection/Prayer on Nuclear Threat
The powers that be want us to believe that nuclear weapons were used to save American lives and end WWII. This is a fallacy! Both General Eisenhower, and Admiral Leahy, head of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff, opposed using the atomic bomb. They declared that Japan was already defeated and on the verge of surrender and, as Eisenhower stated, “that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary” and “no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives.”
R: We Repent for the Nuclear Sin-Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now
According to Gar Alperovitz, in his compelling book, Atomic Diplomacy, nuclear weapons were used against the Japanese primarily for two reasons: “first, the U.S. wanted to hasten its victory over Japan without the aid of the Russians, who were about to enter the war; second, and most importantly, President Truman intended to threaten the Russians and warn them not to challenge U.S. plans for organizing the postwar world.”
R: We Repent for the Nuclear Sin-Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now
The U.S. government has never repented or apologized for using nuclear weapons against the Japanese people. The violence unleashed at Hiroshima and Nagasaki set in motion a trajectory of unrelenting violence by the U.S. in the wars of aggression that it has waged over the last seven decades in many countries, claiming untold live and which today includes supplying weapons to Israel in its genocidal war and mass starvation of Gaza. The U.S. nuclear weapons program was conceived under a shroud of secrecy that continues to this day, and without the consent of the American people. Beginning with the Manhattan Project in 1940, the U.S. has spent over $9 trillion on its nuclear weapons program.
R: We Repent for the Nuclear Sin-Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now
On January 28, 2025, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists reset the Doomsday Clock to 89 seconds before midnight, the closest to global catastrophe it has ever been. This is due to the existential threats of nuclear war and the climate crisis, AI and other threats. The Ukraine war has further exacerbated the nuclear peril between the two foremost nuclear powers as both Russian and U.S. nuclear arsenals are now on high alert. While the U.S. has always maintained a “first-use” nuclear weapons policy, Russia has publicly stated it would consider using nuclear weapons if it feels endangered by increased U.S. and NATO intervention in the Ukraine war. In the last several days, US nuclear submarines have been deployed near Russia.
R: We Repent for the Nuclear Sin-Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now
According to the Federation of American Scientists, nine countries possess roughly 12,700 warheads. Approximately 90 percent of all nuclear warheads are owned by the U.S. and Russia. U.S. nuclear weapons are also stored at six military bases in the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Belgium and Turkey. Furthermore, U.S. and NATO missile defense systems ring Russia and China, increasing already heightened tensions. The U.S. and Russia, whose nuclear forces are on high alert, are developing hypersonic weapons that could become nuclear capable.
R: We Repent for the Nuclear Sin-Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now
During the first Trump administration, the U.S. dramatically increased the nuclear danger by threatening to use nuclear weapons against adversaries on several occasions. Moreover, the U.S. withdrew from the Iran Nuclear Deal and the INF Treaty with Russia and carried out a subcritical nuclear test, a flagrant violation of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. There would never be a manufactured crisis of the US recently attacking Iran if the Iran Nuclear Deal was still in place. In its 2019 Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations, policy makers declared that a limited nuclear war could be waged and won. This doctrine was the latest manifestation of a long-held existing Pentagon policy positing that the U.S. must be prepared at all times to use whatever military force is necessary, including nuclear weapons, to protect its vital interests in the world. Also, in February 2020, the “lower-yield” W76-2 nuclear warhead on Trident missiles was deployed, a smaller warhead the military believes is more usable. Additionally, a new U.S. space force was created to oversee military control and domination of space. R: We Repent for the Nuclear Sin-Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now
On March 28, 2022 the Biden administration transmitted to Congress a classified Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) which basically reaffirms preexisting U.S. nuclear doctrine, including refusal to adopt a “no first-use” nuclear policy. The Trump administration is continuing this nuclear policy, as well as the nuclear arsenal upgrade now underway which is estimated to cost $1.7 trillion over the next several decades, as life-saving programs for the poor are cut, the climate crisis worsens, and basic human needs go unmet. As a leading nuclear superpower, the U.S. practices a double standard by calling on other nations to disarm while, at the same time, it refuses to disarm and instead is rapidly expanding its own arsenal.
R: We Repent for the Nuclear Sin-Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now
The Navy has contracted with General Dynamics to build the Columbia class nuclear subs to replace the existing Trident fleet. Twelve Columbia class subs will cost over $130 billion and the first of these subs will be named the USS District of Columbia. This is sinful and criminal! As these exorbitant resources are spent on weapons of mass murder, 120 people died without the dignity of home last year in D.C.
R: We Repent for the Nuclear Sin-Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now
The USS Florida Trident nuclear submarine, now refitted with Tomahawk cruise missiles, was deployed on November 5, 2023 to the Middle East, in support of Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza. And the USS Georgia Trident sub was recently used to fire Tomahawk cruise missiles at several Iranian military sites. We join our voice with all those urgently calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, an end to all U.S. military aid and weapons to Israel and U.S. complicity in the genocide, forced starvation and ethnic cleansing in Gaza, an end to apartheid and the occupation of Palestine, self-determination for the Palestinian people, and lasting peace with justice for Palestine and Israel. We call, too, on the U.S. and Israel to make peace with Iran!