Catholic Workers Join Global Witness for Nuclear Abolition at UN Conference

Catholic Workers joined hundreds of global advocates in New York City earlier this month to bear witness against nuclear weapons during the Third Meeting of the States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). As part of a parallel Nuclear Ban Week, Catholic Workers engaged in prayer, protest, and acts of civil disobedience, culminating in the Ash Wednesday arrest of 17 activists outside the U.S. Mission to the UN. Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico, celebrated Mass and administered ashes to activists prior to their action on Ash Wednesday, according to Catholic Workers who attended.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, adopted in 2017 and entering into force in 2021, aims to comprehensively ban, and eventually eliminate, nuclear weapons. The official meeting took place March 3 – 7 and saw participation from 86 countries, including States Parties, signatories, and observers. More than 1,000 representatives from 163 civil society organizations, alongside nine international organizations, actively engaged in the proceedings. Throughout the week, more than 70 events related to nuclear disarmament were held both at the United Nations and across New York City.

One of those events was the ICAN Campaigners Forum, a gathering of over 350 people that took place at Riverside Church on Sunday. Claire Schaeffer-Duffy (Sts. Francis and Therese Catholic Worker, Worcester, Massachusetts) attended the forum, thanks to the generosity of a friend. She was told by others that more of the participants were younger than at previous meetings.

“There were lots of international young people,” she said. “It was emceed by a very energetic 27-year-old man from Japan. I was also taken with the testimonies of nuclear-affected communities, and that’s who I ended up spending my time with.”

Speakers shared harrowing stories of suffering caused by nuclear production and testing, Schaeffer-Duffy said. Kazakh participants described the long-term health consequences endured by entire generations as a result of the 456 nuclear tests, including 340 underground and 116 atmospheric tests, that were conducted at Semipalatinsk Test Site facilities. Navajo activists spoke of the ongoing devastation left by uranium mining, which poisoned their land and water. Japanese hibakusha, survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings, were joined by a group of Korean survivors—forced laborers under Japanese rule—who lost thousands of their countrymen in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Some 50,000 were living in Hiroshima at the time of the atomic bombing, many working in the munitions factories. 

“When the frontline communities spoke, they had in their audience many people from other frontline communities, and they resonated immediately,” Schaeffer-Duffy said. “They were connecting with one another, offering a different documentation of what these bombs are about, and they are gaining strength from each other, because there’s distinction in their experience, but there’s also a lot that is similar.”

On Tuesday, Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe celebrated a Mass at Our Saviour Church that was attended by approximately 100 activists. Wester has emerged as a leading voice for nuclear abolition within the U.S. episcopacy, thanks to his partnerships with other bishops in the U.S. and Japan to push for the abolition of nuclear weapons; his groundbreaking pastoral letter, Living in the Light of Christ’s Peace:A Conversation Toward Nuclear Disarmament, is one of the strongest statements of the U.S. episcopate on the subject.

Wester began his reflections on the Beatitudes by drawing on Dorothy Day’s searing 1945 editorial condemning the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima. He went on to outline how “love disarms us.”

“It calls us to surrender our egos, to lay aside our need to control and to be powerful and to be a military might,” he said. “That was the vision of Dorothy Day, that love is the only solution to our problems today. The love of God, the love of neighbor, and the love of creation. Those who know this are fortunate. And those whose mourning reminds them of it are blessed. Love is the fundamental, absolute, solitary motivation that animates our vision of a world without nuclear weapons.”

You can read the full text of Wester’s homily at CatholicWorker.org.

Activists gathered again for an early morning prayer vigil at the Isaiah Wall, a longtime site of peace demonstrations. Then, at noon, Archbishop Wester distributed ashes and blessed the activists.

“Jesus sent the disciples forth to give witness, and so it’s very important that we speak, especially for those who can’t speak for themselves, and especially for those who may not be aware of the terrible situation we have in our world today with nuclear weapons,” Wester said, adding that more young people need to learn about the issue. “You’re doing something about it by lending your voices, your bodies, your presence to this very important cause of peace. So I just want you to know that we’ve been praying for all of us that are involved, whatever your organization is, and we thank you. Thank you for your witness.”

After distributing the ashes, Wester stayed for much of the protest.

Martha Hennessy (New York Catholic Worker) found Wester’s solidarity with the activists deeply moving, and a highlight of the week.

“That meant so much to so many people. It was amazing,” she said. “He was giving us a blessing before we did our little sacrifice, being willing to get arrested. He made it all sacramental.”

About thirty or forty people then processed toward the U.S. Mission to the UN, carrying a 30-foot banner calling for nuclear disarmament, according to Paul Magno (Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, Washington, D.C.). The Wednesday afternoon action was organized by the Atlantic Life Community, a coalition of peace groups with strong Catholic Worker representation. Other groups involved included the Raging Grannies, a well-known activist collective that uses music and satire to promote peace and social justice, the War Resisters League, and Pax Christi.

At the UN, activists broke into three separate groups, Magno said. Some activists stood outside the UN headquarters, holding signs and banners in solidarity with treaty supporters. A small delegation attempted to enter the U.S. Mission to deliver a letter requesting dialogue on nuclear disarmament, but security refused to grant them access. Meanwhile, a third group unfurled the 30-foot banner in front of the U.S. Mission to the UN as police and passersby looked on. The banner read, “Ban nuclear weapons which are illegal and immoral.”

Although activists had sent a letter to the U.S. Mission asking to meet with officials there, they were denied entry. Instead, they began using wheat paste to glue excerpts of the TPNW treaty onto the sidewalk outside the U.S. Mission. In a spontaneous act of symbolic resistance, they also painted four large crosses on the pavement using wheat paste and then sprinkled ashes onto the crosses, marking the site with a visible sign of Lenten repentance for nuclear sin.

“No more Hiroshima!” protesters chanted. “No more Nagasaki! No more war! No more hibakusha! No more victims!”

“Now, if you’re out here looking at us, we’re not out here because we’re crazy,” the protest leader shouted, as scores of police officers watched. “We’re out here because we’re trying to tell the world that nuclear weapons are illegal.”

The activists holding the large banner then began processing up one side of First Avenue and down the other. Eventually, a security official approached the activists and instructed them to leave the sidewalk in front of the United Nations building, carrying their banner across First Avenue. A back-and-forth argument ensued.

“This is our First Amendment—” an activist began, according to video of the confrontation.

“Yes, I understand (the) First Amendment; you can do First Amendment on this side,” the security official said.

The activists then proceeded to cross First Avenue and halt in the street, blocking traffic, at which point the security official called for flex cuffs.

After issuing warnings, police began arresting protesters, clearing the road in less than five minutes.

Seventeen activists were detained, including Catholic Workers and other activists. An Austrian woman with UN credentials got arrested as well, according to Magno.

“She happened to be crossing the road and she was impressed with the banner, and for some reason, one of the (Raging Grannies) needed to talk to someone or tie her shoe or something, and said, ‘Ma’am, could you hold this for a second?’ And the cops busted her,” he said. “She had no aspiration when she woke up in the morning” to be arrested.

Although activists told police that she was not part of the group, she was booked anyway. She called the Austrian consulate and was released later in the day with the other activists. Those who were arrested have court dates set for late March.

Photos via Hideko Otake.

[See video of the action on YouTube: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4]

Three activists continued to stand vigil in front of the Mission, reading sections of the Treaty to passersby, for several hours after the arrests, according to Magno. A number of Japanese people credentialed to attend the UN meeting stopped by to talk with activists throughout the day, he said.

“That was that was a blessing,” he said. “I mean, some Japanese people take atomic bombing seriously.”

On Thursday night, Archbishop Wester celebrated Mass at Maryhouse, where the gathering took on an international dimension with the presence of Korean hibakusha—survivors of the Nagasaki bombing who were forcibly conscripted as laborers under Japanese occupation. These survivors are now seeking legal action against the U.S. for its role in the bombings.

Hennessy, Schaeffer-Duffy, and Magno all said the experience gave them hope for the future of the movement to abolish nuclear weapons.

“The more we do this work, the more we see how critical it is,” Hennessy said, noting in particular her interactions with the Korean hibakusha.

Schaeffer-Duffy was particularly encouraged by the tenor of coverage in local diocesan newspapers that wrote about the Mass for nuclear disarmament led by Archbishop Wester. She said his message seems to be gaining traction among some Catholics, and she noted that the New York event is only the first of several actions around nuclear disarmament this spring.

On April 1, activists will gather outside Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut, to protest the construction of Columbia-class nuclear submarines with a humorous, April Fool’s Day themed protest. During Holy Week, Catholic Workers and members of the Atlantic Life Community will embark on a pilgrimage for nuclear disarmament, walking from New Britain to New London, Connecticut, stopping along the way for prayer, reflection, and public witness. Further west, activists will participate in the Nevada Desert Experience, a long-standing Holy Week vigil and action at the Nevada Test Site (now called the Nevada National Security Site), where the U.S. has conducted more than 900 nuclear tests, including 100 atmospheric tests.

“I observed a lot of energy coming from groups that have worked for decades on abolition of nuclear weapons,” Schaeffer-Duffy noted. “Small though they may be in their respective corners, when they collectively come together, there’s an affirmation that this work is important, and that what you have done in your little corner has helped advance the consciousness of working against these weapons.”