Trident as seen by 21st century Faith

Cardinal Keith O’Brien spoke in front of more than 200 people last month during the Hexham debate at St Mary’s. In this, the first past of His Eminence’s talk, he looks at Britain’s commitment to disarmament

I’VE been asked to speak on the topic of Trident nuclear weapons, a theme very close to my heart, and to speak about this evil presence among us ‘with the eyes of a 21st century faith’. Trident most certainly is an issue that we approach as a question of faith, as is care for the earth, and they are perhaps the most pressing themes we face today.

Alistair McIntosh’s theme at next month’s Hexham debate will be climate change, and my theme is not unrelated to that. Late last year I was giving a great deal of thought to both issues, as I made my way to the United Nations in New York to head a delegation of Catholic development agencies.

I was part of the SCIAF delegation, in the wider network of Caritas agencies, and in New York we met with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, to present our case for urgent environmental action on behalf of some of the poorest people in the world.

Our meeting was timed to take place as world leaders gathered for the General Assembly of the UN, and I found I came away from New York frustrated at one level, but heartened at another. Frustrated, because it left me with reason to be worried on the matter of environmental protection.

Sad to say, my misgivings have of course been borne out after the shameful failure of the summit in Copenhagen to reach any meaningful agreement for cutting global carbon emissions. I was heartened, though, because nuclear weapons became a central theme at the General Assembly, and I’m not sure that everyone expected it to be so

prominent.

Issues don’t come bigger than these, and the United Nations is a fitting place for both subjects to be considered, as they each have global consequences. Indeed, Pope Benedict XVI has described the UN as ‘an instrument of service to the whole human family’, and we look forward to real and effective service emanating from there in the months ahead.

To read the full article, please purchase a copy of the Scottish Catholic Observer at your local Church or Newsagent