Pope Francis Condemns U.S. Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Powerful Reminder

Pope Francis offered prayers Sunday to the victims of Hiroshima’s and Nagasaki’s 1945 atomic bombings, a subject he has addressed on many occasions.

The pontiff said that he had “commemorated the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki” in his weekly Angelus Address to the crowd gathered at Saint Peter’s Square.

He said: “As you continue to pray for the peace of the Middle East, Palestine, and Israel, as well as the Ukraine and the troubled Ukraine in particular, we urge you to renew your prayers for the peace of the Ukraine and the Middle East.”

The pontiff condemned repeatedly the U.S. Bombing of Japan which ended the Second World War.

Francis, before his 2019 visit to Japan, denounced the bombings in Nagasaki, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, calling them a “tragic event in human history.”

The pope said to Japanese bishops, “I will visit Nagasaki soon and offer prayers for victims of the bombings of these two cities and echo your prophetic call for nuclear disarmament.”

He said: “I would like to meet the people who are still suffering from the tragic events of human history as well as those who were affected by the triple disaster.” “Their continuing sufferings are a powerful reminder of our Christian and human duty to help those who are troubled both in body and mind, and to share the Gospel message that offers hope, healing, and reconciliation to everyone.”

He said, “Evil is not prejudiced; it doesn’t care about peoples’ backgrounds or identities.”

In 2018, the Pope gave postcards to journalists that featured a photo of a Japanese child carrying his brother dead after the U.S. Bombing of Nagasaki. The card included a personal message, “the fruits of war,” and the Pope’s signature “Franciscus.”

Francis stated at the time, “It is therefore necessary to destroy weapons. Let’s work towards nuclear disarmament.”

Francis insists that the bombings of Hiroshima & Nagasaki in 1945 were not carried out to stop Japanese aggression or end the war, but rather to satisfy the U.S. desire for dominance & destruction.

The pope sent a message in which he said: “The Hibakusha are survivors of the atomic attacks on Hiroshima & Nagasaki. They keep the flame of collective consciousness alive, bearing witness to future generations of the horrors of August 1945, and the unimaginable sufferings of today.”

Francis condemned nuclear weapons while highlighting the suffering of the Japanese.

He did not mention the use of chemical and biological weapons by the Imperial Japanese Army during the invasion and occupation of China during World War II. He has never mentioned other Japanese war crimes and atrocities that occurred before and during World War II, including the Nanking Massacre in 1937, where Japanese soldiers murdered 300,000 civilians, many of whom were unarmed, and raped thousands of women.

The pope has also avoided mentioning that the Japanese preemptive bombing of Pearl Harbor was the cause of America’s entrance into World War II. At the time the United States had sought to be neutral, but following the Japanese aggression, Congress declared war against Japan on December 8, 1941.