“But we, they, I cannot be silent any longer. We must say no with clarity, with finality. We must say no to nuclear war. We must say no to the arms race. We must say no to the testing which makes the arms race possible.”
We must say yes only to authentic peace-a peace built on trust in God who sees what is in our hearts. We must say yes only to the Peace of Christ, “who though he was God, stripped himself of glory and by shedding his blood on the cross, brought peace to the world.”
“I cannot say yes to the peace of Christ and yes to nuclear weapons. I cannot say yes to the peace of Christ and yes to modern warfare. It doesn’t fit; it is not consistent, and I cannot do it.”
(from Nevada Test Site Statement, May, 1987, at Pax Christi USA National action. Quoted in Words of Peace Vol. II: Selections from Bishop Thomas Gumbleton. Pax Christi USA 1991.)