VATICAN CITY (Sputnik) — Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic Church, has called on the global community has warned against the use of nuclear weapons, when delivering his traditional preaching at the St. Peter's Square in the Vatican city on Sunday.
The pontiff has praised the work of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a coalition of non-governmental organizations in one hundred countries that promote the idea of implementation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which received its Nobel Peace Prize on the international UN Human Rights Day.
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"This recognition [of ICAN’s work] coincides with the UN Human Rights Day, and this emphasizes the close connection between human rights and nuclear disarmament. In fact, efforts to protect the dignity of all people, especially of the most vulnerable ones, also means working with determination to create a world without the nuclear weapons," Pope Francis said.
In an exclusive interview with Sputnik, the co-chair of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons Rebecca Johnson said, "It’s just nine states in the world that have these abhorrent weapons of destruction that threaten the peace and survival of all of us, and we have to engage those governments and engage those people in how they are now going to reduce and eliminate their nuclear weapons."
Paris Climate Deal
The Pope continued his speech by mentioning the international summit on the climate change that is set to kick off in Paris on Tuesday.
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"I sincerely hope that this summit, as well as other initiatives on these issues, would promote clear awareness of the necessity to adopt really effective decisions to counteract climate change and, at the same time, to combat poverty and facilitate wholesome human development," Pope Francis underlined.
US President Donald Trump, a skepticist of global warming issue, has announced the US decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, ratified by 170 countries, in early June. The move has been met by worldwide criticism, with American activists delivering a petition signed by more than 1 million country's citizens, urging to uphold the deal.
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California, along with other US states, communes and businesses, is a part of the United States Climate Alliance, which was established in June. Its members have pledged to adhere to Paris deal that entered into force in November 2016 and aims at keeping the increase in average global temperature at below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, despite Trump's decision to withdraw.
