Quakers join Faslane vigil against nuclear weapons
The "No to Nuclear Weapons" ecumenical peace gathering marked the 80th anniversary of the horrific nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
On Saturday 2nd August more than one hundred people took part in a peace vigil outside the HM Naval Base Clyde. The base is home the Royal Navy's four Vanguard-class submarines, each carrying Trident 2 D5 nuclear missiles. The UK's Strategic Defence Review published in June includes plans to build 12 nuclear-powered submarines and six new weapons factories.
Organised by Peace and Justice Scotland, the vigil was led by Most Rev William Nolan, Catholic Archbishop of Glasgow, Rt Rev Rosie Frew, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and Most Rev Mark Strange, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church.
Leading a period of prayerful silence at the gathering, Paul Parker, recording clerk for Quakers in Britain said that these weapons exist only because of our failure to love one another as God calls us to.
He added: “We've known for 80 years the devastation, loss of human life and permanent harm these weapons can do, and yet they're still here. Today I'm here to stand as a Quaker alongside people of faith from across Scotland to mark those deaths and demand once and for all that these weapons will never be used again".
Archbishop William Nolan said: “The phrase 'never again' gained much currency 80 years ago. But the actions of nuclear powers, including our own, run contrary to that."
The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people (most of them civilians), and left many more dealing with radioactive fallout and emotional wounds.
Quakers have campaigned against nuclear weapons since their first use 80 years ago and last year hosted two survivors of the bombing. Representing the last generation able to share the experience of a nuclear weapons strike, Tadayoshi Ogawa said that the use of nuclear weapons is an act against humanity.