Acta Francisci Pp. 395

These concerns are even greater when we consider the catastrophic human-

itarian and environmental consequences that would follow from any use of

nuclear weapons, with devastating, indiscriminate and uncontainable effects,

over time and space. Similar cause for concern arises when examining the

waste of resources spent on nuclear issues for military purposes, which

could instead be used for worthy priorities like the promotion of peace and

integral human development, as well as the fight against poverty, and the

implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

We need also to ask ourselves how sustainable is a stability based on

fear, when it actually increases fear and undermines relationships of trust

between peoples.

International peace and stability cannot be based on a false sense of

security, on the threat of mutual destruction or total annihilation, or on

simply maintaining a balance of power. Peace must be built on justice, on

integral human development, on respect for fundamental human rights,

on the protection of creation, on the participation of all in public life, on

trust between peoples, on the support of peaceful institutions, on access

to education and health, on dialogue and solidarity. From this perspective,

we need to go beyond nuclear deterrence: the international community is

called upon to adopt forward-looking strategies to promote the goal of

peace and stability and to avoid short-sighted approaches to the problems

surrounding national and international security.

In this context, the ultimate goal of the total elimination of nuclear

weapons becomes both a challenge and a moral and humanitarian impera-

tive. A concrete approach should promote a reflection on an ethics of peace

and multilateral and cooperative security that goes beyond the fear and

isolationism that prevail in many debates today. Achieving a world without

nuclear weapons involves a long-term process, based on the awareness that

"everything is connected" within the perspective of an integral ecology

(cf. Laudato Si', 117, 138). The common destiny of mankind demands the

pragmatic strengthening of dialogue and the building and consolidating of

mechanisms of trust and cooperation, capable of creating the conditions

for a world without nuclear weapons.

Growing interdependence and globalization mean that any response to

the threat of nuclear weapons should be collective and concerted, based

on mutual trust. This trust can be built only through dialogue that is