NAGASAKI, Japan - Pope Francis demanded world leaders renounce nuclear weapons and the Cold War-era doctrine of mutual deterrence, saying Sunday the arms race decreases security, wastes resources and threatens humanity with catastrophic destruction. Francis made the appeal in Nagasaki at ground zero of the second of the two 1945 U.S. atomic bombings on Japan. Francis visited Nagasaki — and later Hiroshima — at the start of his three-day trip to Japan aimed at emphasizing his call for a global ban on atomic weapons. And he urged world powers to recommit to arms control efforts and the eventual abolition of nuclear weapons. It was the first of two major messages Francis was delivering Sunday, with the second coming during a stop in Hiroshima.

Source: thestar November 24, 2019 01:41 UTC