The short declaration paired weapons of mass destruction with terrorism, saying: “we regard the development and use of weapons of mass destruction and acts of terrorism as immoral.”
The declaration, entitled “Gathered in the name of God,” was signed by Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop Emeritus of Washington, and Bishop Oscar Cantú, chair of the US Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace. It was the outcome of a six-day meeting in Rome in June. This followed a meeting in Qom, Iran, in March 2014, which focused on the elimination of nuclear weapons.
The Shia signatories were Ayatollah Alireza A’arafi, President of Al-Mustafa International University, and Abdul-Majid Hakim-Elahi, director of the International Affairs Office of the Society of Qom Seminary Scholars.
The statement is accessible here.
SH/PR