Pope Francis visits Nagasaki in Japan

In a long-awaited speech in Nagasaki, Pope Francis strongly criticized the concept of nuclear deterrence and warned of arm races while calling on world leaders to instead use money and resources to cope with poverty and environmental problems that have left “millions of people living in inhumane conditions.”

The Japan Times reports the Pope saying that “Peace and international stability are incompatible with attempts to build upon the fear of mutual destruction or the threat of total annihilation.”

Scores of people gathered at the Nagasaki Peace Park despite a light rain.

Nagasaki is one of the two cities ever to be attacked with nuclear weapons, the other being Hiroshima.

Japan Times also reports that Nagasaki is also a special place for many Catholic leaders, as it is widely known for its kakure kirishitan, or “hidden Christians,” the descendants of adherents who were persecuted in the early 16th and 17th centuries.

These people hid their faith but secretly continued religious practices for more than 250 years, finally revealing themselves to a French missionary in Nagasaki in 1865 after Japan ended its national seclusion policy that had been in place for more than 210 years.

Via Japan Times