Quoting the Pope in their action statement, the KBP7 stated, “We seek to bring about a world free of nuclear weapons, racism, and economic exploitation. We plead to our Church to withdraw its complicity in violence and war. We cannot simultaneously pray and hope for peace while we bless weapons and condone war-making. Pope Francis says the abolition of weapons of mass destruction is the only way to save God’s creation from destruction. Clarifying the teachings of our Church, Pope Francis said, “The threat of their use, as well as their very possession, is to be firmly condemned, weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons create nothing but a false sense of security. They cannot constitute the basis for peaceful coexistence between members of the human family, which must rather be inspired by ethics of solidarity.”

Kings Bay Plowshares 7 defendant and co-organizer of the vigils, Carmen Trotta, has served the poor at the St. Joseph Catholic Worker house in the Lower East Side in Manhattan for the last 30 years. He shared his gratitude to Pope Francis who is the first Pope declaring the need for the complete abolition of nuclear weapons. Carmen will be joined among others, by the founder of the Catholic Worker movement, Dorothy Day’s granddaughter, Martha Hennessy, also serving at the NYC Catholic Worker house, and Ithaca Catholic Worker, Clare Grady, both KBP7 defendants.

Sam Husseini writes in his Nov. 22nd Counter Punch article, “In her testimony, Plowshares defendant Clare Grady … tried to explain to the jury the motivation and urgency of the group: US government is using nuclear weapons daily as a gun pointed at the head of the planet.” (Interviews Available)

A documentarian, Anthony Donovan, vigil co-organizer, (Good Thinking, Those Who Tried to Halt Nuclear Weapons) working with Nobel Prize winner, ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons), referenced the Pope’s statement, “the Holy See acknowledges the increasing number of nations who have ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). The Vatican also calls for sincere, honest and effective dialogue, to build the trust needed to ratify this instrument.”

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