Statement on the 66th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

World Council of Churches - News

STATEMENT ON THE 66TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ATOMIC BOMBINGS OF HIROSHIMA AND
NAGASAKI

For immediate release: 05 August 2011

Each August 6 and 9 since 1945 there is a profound moment of sorrow and
reason for hope when the world remembers the dropping of atomic bombs on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 66-years-ago during World War II.

This year Rev. Dr Olav Fkyse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council
of Churches, remembers this tragedy as one that can never be repeated.

"For as long as nuclear weapons exist, each year brings us new reasons to
build a world where such a tragedy can never happen again," Tveit said in a
statement released Friday 5 August.

To read the full statement click here (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=cd0a49105127f57f0678 )

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and
service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches
founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant, Orthodox,
Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in
over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church.
The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, from the [Lutheran]
Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.