Statement from University President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., on the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima
University of Notre Dame President Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., traveled to Japan this week as part of a “Pilgrimage of Peace,” to mark the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The delegation was led by Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington, Archbishop Paul Etienne of Seattle and Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Notre Dame faculty, staff and students also joined the pilgrimage, along with representatives from other U.S. Catholic universities.
Today, on the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, Father Dowd offered remarks at the Elisabeth University of Music as a guest of its president, Yuji Kawano, and Bishop Alexis Mitsuru Shirahama of Hiroshima. Father Dowd focused on the role that universities can play in addressing the current nuclear predicament and the wider challenges of peace in today’s world.
“The first and primary role of a university is to discover new knowledge and to educate,” Father Dowd said. “While modern universities have excelled at scientific and technical discoveries, moral wisdom has often lagged behind. The particular role of a Catholic university like Notre Dame is to join scientific and technical knowledge with moral and religious understanding. Nuclear weapons and war are, at root, spiritual and moral problems. …
“One reason I wanted to be part of this pilgrimage is the opportunity to hear directly from the remaining survivors of the bombings — the hibakusha. Their witness to the reality of these barbarous weapons is irreplaceable in gaining the moral wisdom that will fulfill the promise of the inscription on the Memorial Monument not far from here: ‘Let all the souls here rest in peace; for we shall not repeat the evil.’ …
“Those of us from Catholic institutions charged with educating and forming the next generation should be proud of our leadership in religion and ethics, but we can do much more to help our students understand and embrace the Church’s rich tradition of moral reflection on war and peace, as well as the Church’s long-standing moral critique of nuclear weapons and calls for mutual, verifiable nuclear disarmament. We can do more to help bring about the moral about-face that is necessary if the world is to have any hope of escaping the nuclear predicament.”
Father Dowd’s full remarks can be viewed here in English and in Japanese.
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