Nuclear Deterrence in the Reflections of the Catholic Church

Abstract

The Catholic Church has always refused the employment of nuclear weapons on general principle as due to its devastating power and its incompatibility with the protection of non-combatants. This is why the Magisterium has consistently supported the disarmament of nuclear weapons. However, various papal declarations have been made on the “temporary” possession of nuclear weapons for nuclear deterrence. The shift of tone occurred with the address of John Paul II for the UN General Assembly in 1982 in which he morally accepted the possession of nuclear weapons as means of deterrence in order to preserve the peace. Pope Francis has returned to the position of the Church before John Paul II, totally condemning the possession of nuclear weapons. In this paper my intention is to demonstrate the developments of the position of the Holy See and local Churches involved about the use, development and possession of atomic weapons from WW2 until the present day.