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@76 days until Hiroshima Summit: Religious influencers

by Hiromi Morita, Staff Writer

Religious people who have great influence on the world have visited Hiroshima and released their message. In November 2019, Pope Francis made a powerful appeal in the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima’s Naka Ward, by saying, “Let us together cry out from our hearts: Never again war, never again the clash of arms, never again so much suffering!” The Pope’s visit to the city was actually the first visit of a pope in 38 years.

To remember the past is to commit oneself to the future. To remember Hiroshima is to abhor nuclear war. “Appeal for Peace at Hiroshima” released by Pope John Paul II in 1981, which begins with the sentence “War is the work of man,” still resonates with us.

Religious influencers as well as Nobel Peace Prize laureates have visited Hiroshima, including Mother Teresa, the 14th Dalai Lama, and the former Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

(Originally published on March 4, 2023)

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