ROME — Pope Francis on Sunday prayed for the victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, a topic he has addressed many times before.
The pope told visitors gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his weekly Angelus homily that the past few days mark “the anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”
“Let us continue to pray to the Lord for these incidents and for the victims of all wars, and let us renew our strong prayers for peace, especially for those countries suffering from conflict: Ukraine, the Middle East, Palestine, Israel, Sudan and Myanmar,” he said.
The Pope has repeatedly condemned the U.S. bombing of Japan, which brought an end to World War II.
Ahead of his visit to Japan in 2019, Pope Francis condemned the “evil” atomic bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, calling the attacks a “tragic event in the history of humanity.”
“I will soon visit Nagasaki and Hiroshima to pray for the victims of the devastating bombings of these two cities and to respond to your prophetic call for nuclear disarmament,” the Pope said. said Japanese bishops.
“I want to meet those who still bear the scars of this tragic event in human history, the victims of the triple disaster,” he said. “Their continuing suffering is an eloquent reminder of our human and Christian obligation to come to the aid of those who suffer in body and mind, and to bring to all the people the Gospel message of hope, healing and reconciliation.”
“Evil has no preferences. It doesn’t care about people’s backgrounds or identities,” he said.
File/Enola Gay On Aug. 6, 1945, during the final stages of World War II, a Boeing B-29 became the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb. The bomb, codenamed “Little Boy,” was targeted at the Japanese city of Hiroshima. (Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
In 2018, the pope handed out postcards to reporters featuring a photo of a Japanese boy carrying his brother, who died after the U.S. bombed Nagasaki, with the pope’s personal message, “A Product of War,” and his signature, “Francis.”
“That is why we need to destroy nuclear weapons. Let us work for nuclear disarmament,” Francis said at the time.
Pope Francis has argued that the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were motivated by an American “desire to dominate and destroy”, rather than any concern to thwart Japanese aggression and end the war.
” Atomic bomb survivors“The survivors of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki are those who continue to ignite the flames of our collective conscience, bearing witness to the horror of what happened in August 1945 and the indescribable suffering that continues to this day,” the Pope said. said In a message.
Francisco especially Nuclear He chose the weapon of choice for his condemnation, highlighting the suffering of the Japanese people.
But he Biological and Chemicals weapons He makes no mention of the horrific atrocities committed by the Japanese military during its invasion and occupation of China in World War II, nor of Japan’s atrocities and war crimes before and during that war, such as the Nanjing Massacre. Massacre During the 1937 war, Japanese soldiers raped tens of thousands of women and killed as many as 300,000 civilians and unarmed combatants.
The Pope also avoided discussing the reason America entered World War II: the preemptive attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. The United States was a neutral country at the time and had sought to remain so, but the Japanese invaded the country and Congress declared war on Japan the very next day, on December 8, 1941.
