“80 Years is Enough” – A Call for a Peaceful Asia-Pacific Without Nuclear Weapons
As we mark 80 years since the devastating atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Pax Christi, Pax Romana, and the International Youth Training Center (IYTC) have come together to launch the Pax Jubilee 2025 Declaration, a bold, faith-rooted call for a nuclear-free Asia-Pacific region.
Rooted in the spirit of the Jubilee Year 2025 and echoing the Catholic Church’s commitment to peace, this declaration invites bishops, organisations, youth, and all people of good will to join in commemorating the past and building a future free of nuclear weapons, war, and injustice.
The Pax Jubilee Declaration, was formally presented during the 80th anniversary memorial Masses in Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 2025. The declaration was delivered by Giulia Bordin, Advocacy Officer at Pax Christi International, and Anselmo Lee of Pax Christi Korea. Read more here.
The Declaration calls on all countries, including the five nuclear-armed states, to ratify and implement the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), adopted in 2017. It also appeals for debt cancellation, a reduction in military spending, and the redirection of resources toward food security, education, and responses to the climate crisis, as emphasized by Pope Francis in his message for the 2025 World Day of Peace.
This declaration builds upon and follows up the Nagasaki Appeal for Peace, the outcome document of the Catholic Peace Forum held in Nagasaki on 10 August 2024, which supported the Partnership for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World (PWNW) initiative launched in 2023 by several bishops from Japan and the United States.
As of 9 August 2025, approximately 25 bishops from 10 countries, namely Japan, USA, South Korea, Australia, Bangladesh, France, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam have endorsed the declaration. Symbolically, it is expected that up to 80 bishops will endorse it before the conclusion of the Jubilee Year 2025.
Why This Declaration Matters?
Remembering history, reclaiming peace. The launch of this declaration marks several powerful anniversaries:
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80 years since the end of World War II and the founding of the United Nations in 1945.
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80 years since the liberation of Indonesia and Korea from colonial rule.
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60 years of diplomatic peace-building between Japan and South Korea.
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50 years since the end of the Vietnam War, a reminder of the human cost of conflict.
Each of these events reminds us of the urgent need for reconciliation, peace, and nuclear disarmament in our time.
What We Call For
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The full ratification and implementation of nuclear disarmament treaties like the TPNW, CTBT, and NPT
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A shift in military spending toward human security—healthcare, education, climate, and peace
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Truth and reconciliation processes to heal historical injustices
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Youth and interfaith leadership for peace, especially ahead of World Youth Day 2027 in Seoul
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A renewed commitment to common security, nonviolence, and diplomacy
“The use of atomic energy for purposes of war is, today more than ever, a crime… against any possible future for our common home.” – Pope Francis, Hiroshima, 2019
Launch Webinar
🔹 On Wednesday, July 16, 2025, we held a special online event to launch the Pax Jubilee 2025 Declaration, “80 Years Is Enough.”
The webinar, taking place on the 80th anniversary of the first atomic bomb test conducted in New Mexico, USA, on July 16, 1945, featured insights and reflections from Jonathan Frerichs, Pax Christi International’s representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) and Giulia Bordin, Pax Christi International’s Advocacy Officer.
The Catholic Peace Forum (CPF) is an open platform for Catholic organisations and individuals interested in and committed to peacebuilding in accordance with Catholic Social Teaching. This includes Pacem in Terris (1963), Laudato Si (2015), Fratelli Tutti (2020) and the Pope’s messages for World Peace Day (1 January).
The CPF is a joint initiative of several Catholic peace (Pax) movement – Pax Romana and Pax Christi and other catholic partner organizations.
A nonviolent childhood might play an essential role for reaching world peace. Austrian peace researcher Franz Jedlicka explains it in his articles and his SDG16 podcast, and has even written a letter to Pope Leo XIV regarding this issue, that has never been clearly stated by former popes.
Barbara
On behalf of Pax Christi Austria I also want to endorse this declaration