Scottish bishop urges Catholics to oppose nuclear arsenal renewal

A Scottish bishop has urged Catholics to oppose plans to renew Great Britain's nuclear arsenal.

Bishop Peter Moran of Aberdeen, Scotland, called on Catholics to tell legislators about the Catholic church's opposition to the proposals before the British Parliament's debate on plans to upgrade the submarine-based Trident nuclear weapons system.

Legislators are to debate the issue and vote on it in March.

In a pastoral letter read at Masses in Scotland Jan. 6 and 7, the bishop said that like King Herod plotting to kill the young Jesus, many people were still "plotting death for the innocent."

"The world's most powerful governments, including our own, seem determined to base our security on having nuclear weapons available," said Moran, president of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland.

He thanked Catholics who already had signed a petition opposing the British government's proposals to redevelop the Trident system.

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales and the Scottish bishops' conference are united in their opposition to the government's plans.

Moran said people who never would condone "barbarous behavior" such as suicide bombings were nevertheless prepared to threaten "death and devastation" with a system like Trident.

"Real peace is much more than the absence of outward violence," he said. "Things may be quiet, but the violence can still be there as a threat in people's attitudes.

"For any real peace, the attitudes have to change," Moran added.

Britain's fleet of nuclear submarines is based at the Faslane Naval Base in Gare Loch, Scotland.

In December, British Prime Minister Tony Blair told legislators it would be "unwise and dangerous" not to replace the aging vessels and their weapons. The estimated cost is between $30 billion and $40 billion.

Blair, who wants the issue resolved before he leaves office later this year, told legislators Britain could not always expect "shelter under the nuclear deterrent of America."

By SIMON CALDWELL

Catholic News Service

London

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