18 US Catholic Bishops Call for an End to Billions Spent on Weapons "Our misplaced reliance on new and ever more lethal....weapons will never bring us the peace for which we long." FULL TEXT Letter
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FULL TEXT LETTER -
Bread Not Stones Bishops’ Sign-On Statement
In the preamble of Jesus’ teaching of the Golden Rule, He asks his
followers, “Which of you, if your child asks for bread, will give them a
stone?” (Matthew 7:9)
The growing gap between the rich and the poor is compounded by a
growing gap between our nation’s spending on weapons and
preparations for war and our commitment to end poverty. Our poor
and marginalized brothers and sisters cry out for the bread of
compassion and justice. Shall we continue to offer them stones?
We are told that our military spending secures peace for our people and the Church recognizes
the legitimate need for the adequate defense of nations. But our reliance on unfettered
military spending is rooted in a mistaken notion of peace and an erroneous understanding of
what constitutes true security for our people.
As Pope Paul VI made clear, “For peace is not simply the absence of warfare, based on a
precarious balance of power; it is fashioned by efforts directed day after day toward the
establishment of the ordered universe willed by God, with a more perfect form of justice
among men.” (On the Development of Peoples, 1967)
At the gathering of the world’s bishops during the Second Vatican Council in the early 1960s,
the Church made clear that, “The arms race is one of the greatest curses on the human race; it
is to be condemned as a danger, an act of aggression against the poor, and a folly which does
not provide the security it promises.” (The Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern
World, #81).
The Church has repeated many times that "the arms race is to be condemned unreservedly," "it
is an injustice," "it is a form of theft,” "it is completely incompatible with the spirit of humanity
and still more with the spirit of Christianity." (The Holy See & Disarmament Reply to an
invitation by the General Assembly of the United Nations, 1975)
In our dioceses we hear the cry of the poor who hunger for the bread of compassion and
justice. We hear that cry in our Catholic Charities offices, in our food pantries, in our parish St.
Vincent de Paul ministries. We hear that cry in our schools, hospitals, homeless shelters, and
immigrant outreach efforts.
The U.S. federal budget is a moral document that identifies what we value. We cannot remain
silent while our nation squanders hundreds of billions of dollars every year on weapon systems
that add little to our nation’s national security while neglecting the poor and marginalized in
our dioceses and around the world.
Our misplaced reliance on new and ever more lethal conventional and nuclear weapons will
never bring us the peace for which we long. If we want genuine peace, we must seek justice for
the “least of these” (Matthew 25) by beating our swords into ploughshares, and our spears into
pruning hooks. (Isaiah 2:4)
Signed by: 1. Bishop John Stowe, Lexington, KY - 2. Bishop Emeritus Thomas Gumbleton, Detroit, MI - 3. Cardinal Robert McElroy, San Diego, CA - 4. Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., Newark, NJ - 5. Archbishop John Wester, Santa Fe, NM - 6. Archbishop Thomas Zinkula, Dubuque, IA - 7. Bishop Steven Biegler, Cheyenne, WY - 8. Bishop John Dolan, Phoenix, AZ - 9. Bishop Daniel Garcia, Monterey, CA - 10. Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz, Jackson, MS - 11. Bishop Mark Seitz, El Paso, TX - 12. Bishop Anthony Taylor, Little Rock, AR - 13. Bishop Louis Tylka, Peoria, IL - 14. Auxiliary Bishop Matthew G. Elshoff, OFM Cap., Los Angeles, CA - 15. Bishop Emeritus Donald Hanchon, Detroit, MI - 16. Bishop Emeritus Richard Pates, Des Moines, IA - 17. Bishop Emeritus Peter Rosazza, Hartford, CT - 18. Bishop Emeritus Richard Sklba, Milwaukee, WI
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