81 Years After Hiroshima and Nagasaki: A Call to Abolish Nuclear Weapons

People from faith-based groups in Washington, D.C. commemorated the 81st anniversary of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They called on the U.S. government to "repent for the nuclear sin," abolish its nuclear arsenal, and ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons which deems nuclear weapons are now illegal under international law.

At 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945, the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. A second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki just a few days later, on August 9, at 11:02 a.m. The bombs killed over 200,000 people, mostly civilians. 

Commemoration actions calling for nuclear abolition were held on August 6th, on the perimeter of the Pentagon, where 17 peacemakers conducted a prayer service and two people were arrested as they processed with a banner onto the Pentagon property, and on August 8th in proximity to the White House, where about 40 people gathered for a prayer service and peace witness. 

The commemoration witness near the White House was coordinated by Art Laffin of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker and John Whitehead from Consistent Life Ethic, and co-sponsored by Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, Pax Christi Metro DC-Baltimore, Consistent Life Network, American Solidarity Party of DC-Maryland, Rehumanize International, Pax Christi USA, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Justice Team, Little Friends for Peace, Isaiah Project, Assisi Community, and Franciscan Action Network.