VIENNA, Austria, OCT. 4, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Holy See says there are three objectives related to nuclear technology that the international community should unite to achieve.
Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the Holy See's secretary for relations with states, said this recently in an address at the general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Recalling that Benedict XVI mentioned on July 29 the agency's 50th anniversary, the archbishop said, "The epochal changes that have occurred in the last 50 years demonstrate how […] the commitment to encourage nonproliferation of nuclear arms, to promote a progressive and agreed upon nuclear disarmament and to support the use of peaceful and safe nuclear technology for authentic development, respecting the environment and ever mindful of the most disadvantaged populations, is always more present and urgent."
To achieve these goals, the prelate called for a multilateral approach "permeated by dialogue and honesty, as well as by a responsible cooperation among all members of the international community."
Archbishop Mamberti continued: "Such a multilateral approach must be marked by the development and actuation of a new paradigm of collective security in which each country recognizes the clear limits of recourse to nuclear weapons for its own security.
"In the difficult crossroads in which humanity today finds itself, a crossroads characterized by an ever-increasing interdependence on the economic, political, social and environmental levels, the use of force no longer represents a solution sustainable through time: It nourishes a reciprocal diffidence and makes reference to a distorted sense of priorities that makes use of enormous resources in a nearsighted way.
"The temptation to confront new situations with old systems must be avoided."
ZE07100407 - 2007-10-04