Church Leaders Challenge Trident

Representatives of the Catholic, Anglican, Methodist, Quaker and other free-church members have gathered to discuss church responses to the proposed Trident replacement programme.

One of the keynote speakers at the ecumenical seminar in London last week was Douglas Roche, former Canadian parliamentarian and adviser to the Holy See on disarmament issues.

At the seminar organised by Pax Christi, Roche challenged, "Does the UK Government have the courage to face the world without nuclear armour?"

He said: "The Trident decision will be a signal to the world whether the Government is serious about its commitments or just playing with words to strike an agreeable posture in international meetings."

He continued: "It is the proper work of religion to expose falsehoods, particularly when they impact on the lives of the people in the mammoth way that nuclear weapons do.

"Thus Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien of Edinburgh should be commended for speaking out so clearly against the Trident replacement."

Roche acknowledged the firm and consistent stand that the Catholic Church has taken against nuclear weapons. He went on to say that "in addressing the Trident issue, Cardinal O'Brien has projected locally what the Holy See is stating universally: 'The Holy See has never countenanced nuclear deterrence as a permanent measure...'"

The second key speaker to join Roche was the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Rt Rev Alan McDonald, who spoke on the important ecumenical cooperation which is taking place in Scotland and the political challenge to Trident that is so clearly coming from Scotland.

Rev McDonald recently joined with the Archbishop of Glasgow and various marchers in the Long Walk for Peace from Faslane to the Scottish Parliament where they called on MSPs to make Trident history.

At the seminar in London last week, he stressed that the issue of Trident replacement should be of concern to all Christians.

Both Roche and Rev McDonald spoke at a public meeting in Edinburgh the previous evening. More than 150 people attended the meeting at the Lauriston Jesuit Centre where they also heard Cardinal Keith O'Brien and Gerry Hughes sj.

Cardinal O'Brien reaffirmed his call to all men and women of faith to raise their voice for peace.