Please join NukeWatch in welcoming and supporting Santa Fe Archbishop John Wester and Father John Dear on July 2nd at 11am Pacific/ 12pm Mountain/ 1pm Central/ 2pm Eastern Time when Archbishop Wester will speak at the Beatitudes Center about his pastoral letter, an historic call for nuclear disarmament, “Living in the Light of Christ’s Peace,” and what we can do to help achieve this global goal.
Register at www.beatitudescenter.org.
Note, registration closes on Monday, June 27th. You will receive the zoom link a few days beforehand, and a recording link a few days afterward. If you have any questions, email Kassandra at [email protected].
“The New Mexican congressional delegation has always historically supported the nuclear weapons industry in the name of jobs, jobs, jobs. This needs to be critically examined and questioned, both morally and practically. Why is it that New Mexico always ranks near the bottom of all 50 states in key socioeconomic indicators? Does the nuclear weapons industry really benefit New Mexicans as a whole? The facts indicate no.”
“For example, during the nearly 80 years that the nuclear weapons industry has been in NM, Census Bureau data show that New Mexico slipped in per capita income from 37th in 1959 to 49th in 2019. Last year, US News and World Report gave New Mexico a best-state-to-live-in ranking of third from the bottom (and dead last in education). We have the highest percentage of seniors living in poverty and the second-highest rate of overall poverty, suicide, and food insecurity among children. New Mexico was recently ranked as 49th among all states in overall child well-being. Not coincidentally, its population is 63% People of Color who disproportionally bear the negative impacts of poverty.”
“Let’s try to imagine what $9.4 billion in one year could do for New Mexicans. It could hire hundreds of new teachers, help protect us against increasing wildfires threats, secure precious water resources, provide medical care for the poor, and clean up contamination from past nuclear weapons production. Let’s abolish nuclear weapons instead,” he concludes, “and spend those resources on real human needs.”
In August, Archbishop Wester will give the keynote address at the Pax Christi gathering in Washington, D.C. on Hiroshima Day. In September, he will give the opening prayer calling for nuclear disarmament, at the annual opening of the United Nations.