WASHINGTON, D.C., DEC. 24, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The U.S. bishops are welcoming Wednesday’s Senate ratification of the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.
Bishop Howard Hubbard of Albany, New York, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, lauded the Senators for crossing party lines to support the START treaty.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the new treaty last April.
It outlines the reduction of deployed strategic warheads to 1,550 — 30% below the existing ceiling; limits both nations to no more than 700 delivery vehicles; and includes new verification requirements that replace those that expired a year ago under the prior START Treaty.
“The Holy See and our bishops’ conference have long supported efforts to promote nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation,” Bishop Hubbard noted, “based on the Church’s moral concern for indiscriminate and disproportionate weapons.”
Russia has said it needs time to evaluate the Senate resolution before it gives its own ratification.
