The following is from the USSCB.
Dear Colleagues:
As you know, President Obama and President Medvedev of Russia signed a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) on April 8, 2010.
The New START Treaty: reduces deployed strategic warheads to 1550, 30 percent below the existing ceiling; limits both nations to no more than 700 delivery vehicles; and includes new verification requirements.
The Treaty was submitted to the U.S. Senate for ratification on May 13. Many groups are urging renewed advocacy with U.S. Senators the week of May 17-21. USCCB supports strong, bipartisan action to ratify the New START Treaty.
Please use the attached alert to contact your Senators during the week of May 17-21 and urge them to give bipartisan support to the New START Treaty because it makes our nation and world safer by reducing nuclear weapons in a verifiable way.
To contact your Senators, you can visit http://capwiz.com/catholicbishops/ or www.senate.gov or go through the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121.
Thank you for your leadership.
Steve Colecchi
Director
Office of International Justice and Peace
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 Fourth Street NE
Washington DC 20017-1194
Tel: 202-541-3196
Fax: 202-541-3339
Email: scolecchi@usccb.org
Summary:
President Obama and President Medvedev of Russia signed a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) on April 8, 2010. The New START Treaty: reduces deployed strategic warheads to 1550, 30 percent below the existing ceiling; limits both nations to no more than 700 delivery vehicles; and includes new verification requirements. The Treaty was submitted to the U.S. Senate for ratification on May 13. Many groups are urging renewed advocacy with U.S. Senators the week of May 17-21.
USCCB supports strong, bipartisan action to ratify the New START Treaty.
Background:
First proposed by President Ronald Reagan, the United States and Soviet Union signed the original START Treaty in 1991. This treaty limited the number of nuclear warheads and delivery vehicles (missiles and bombers) that each country could deploy.
Today the United States and Russia still hold about 90% of all nuclear weapons, large arsenals left over from the Cold War. Many of these weapons are on immediate alert status. Ratification of the New START Treaty is critical because verification ensures transparency and these reductions in the number of weapons can set the stage for future reductions. The New START Treaty is also important to international efforts to address nonproliferation. With fewer nuclear weapons in the world the likelihood of one falling into terrorist hands is reduced and countries are more likely to cooperate in enforcing nonproliferation demands and controlling the supply of nuclear materials.
Nuclear weapons are a grave threat to human life and dignity. Consistent with Catholic teaching, the bishops have long supported securing nuclear materials from terrorists and reducing the number of nuclear armaments.
For decades they have promoted the policy goals of preventing proliferation of these horrific weapons and ultimately eliminating them. Nuclear war is rejected in Church teaching because the use of nuclear weapons cannot ensure e noncombatant immunity and their destructive potential and lingering radiation cannot be meaningfully proportionate. Pope Benedict XVI said in a January 2006 statement, "In a nuclear war there would be no victors, only victims."
Take Action the week of May 17-21!
Contact your Senators during the week of May 17-21 and urge them to give bipartisan support to the New START Treaty because it makes our nation and world safer by reducing nuclear weapons in a verifiable way.
(To contact your Senators, visit
http://capwiz.com/catholicbishops/ orwww.senate.gov or the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-
3121.)
