Touching the Wounds: The 60th Anniversary of the Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

In John's Gospel, Jesus says to Thomas, "Touch my hands and my side" (John 20: 27). Jesus invites the doubting Thomas to touch his wounds and, in doing so, Thomas knows the truth: that this is truly Jesus standing before him.

For 60 years, the survivors of the nuclear bombings on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have been inviting the world to touch their wounds; the physical wounds that continue to inflict their bodies as well as the psychological wounds that haunt their dreams. They invite us to touch their wounds that we might know the truth: the truth of how nuclear warfare destroys human life.

On the morning of August 6, 1945, the United States dropped the first atomic bomb ever used in warfare on the city of Hiroshima. An initial blast 900 times hotter than the sun vaporized the city and killed 140,000 of the city's 350,000 people. Three days later, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki, killing 74,000 people and wounding as many. The number of victims of these attacks has grown over the years as thousands have died from cancer, a result of the radiation left behind by the bombs. Pope Paul VI, in his 1976 World Day of Peace Message, referred to these bombings as a "butchery of untold magnitude."

The survivors of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, called Hibakusha (a Japanese word meaning "explosion-affected person") have consistently called for the banning of nuclear weapons throughout the world. As witnesses to the human catastrophe of total warfare, they invite us to hear their stories and to touch their wounds that we might know the truth and learn to live in peace. In short, they call us to action.

Taniguchi Sumiteru, a survivor of Nagasaki whose physical deformity still reveals the horror of nuclear war, spoke before the United Nations in May 2005: "Half a century has passed since 'peace' was restored. As I look at our society today, I fear that forgotten memories are leading to a renewed affirmation of the atomic bombs. I am not a guinea pig nor am I on exhibition. But those of you who happen to be here to see me, please don't turn your eyes away from me. I want to believe in the strength and warmth in your eyes.

"Nuclear weapons and humans cannot coexist. No one should be made to suffer the pain we have gone through. I sincerely hope for all of humanity to live a rich and peaceful life. To that end I call on you to join our best efforts to build a world without nuclear weapons. Let there be no more Nagasakis. Let there be no more Hibakusha. Let us spread the cry for a world free of nuclear weapons." (To read more testimonies from survivors, see http://www.inicom.com/hibakusha ).

Few of us have met Taniguchi; few of have witnessed the horror of war. But, as Jesus said to Thomas, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." (John 20:29) We need not physically touch the wounds of the survivors of the bomb to know their truth. As Christians, we need to voice our faith commitment and rid the world of the tools of death and destruction such as those used in Japan in 1945.

August 6 and 9, 2005 mark the 60th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Hibakusha ask the world to remember the history of that day, and to be moved by the wounds of the hundreds of thousands who lost their lives or were severely injured by these attacks. The Hibakusha plead with us to say with commitment, "Never again."

Catholic Connection

"The horror and perversity of war are immensely magnified by the multiplication of scientific weapons. For acts of war involving these weapons can inflict massive and indiscriminate destruction far exceeding the bounds of legitimate defense."
The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Vatican II, 1965.

"Our 'no' to nuclear war must, in the end, be definitive and decisive."
The Challenge of Peace, US Catholic Conference of Bishops, 1983.

"If you wish to be brothers (and sisters), let the arms fall from your hands. You cannot love with weapons in your hands."
Pope Paul VI

Reflection Questions

How, as Catholic Christians, do we respond to the wounds of our brothers and sisters? How have others responded to your wounds?

Today, top U.S. Government officials regularly call for an increase in nuclear weapons in the "war on terror". In what ways do you think we ought to respond as Catholic Christians?

Join us in to discuss these questions!