CLINTON — In commemoration of the 65th year since the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan by atomic bombs, the Clinton Franciscans will screen the film “Nuclear Tipping Point” and continue the discussion of “Getting to Zero” — the need to achieve security without nuclear weapons.
The public program is set for Monday evening, Aug. 9, Nagasaki Day, at 7 p.m. in The Canticle, the home of the Clinton Franciscans, at 841 13th Ave. The program will coincide with similar events being held around the world that weekend, beginning with Hiroshima Day. No advance registration is required. Parking is available around the building.
“As we remember the horror brought about by our country’s use of the first nuclear weapons 65 years ago, we must strengthen our determination to prevent any such atrocity from occurring again,” said Sister Janice Cebula, OSF, president of the Sisters of St. Francis, Clinton.
“Nuclear Tipping Point” is a conversation with four men intimately involved in American diplomacy and national security over the last four decades: former Secretaries of State George Shultz and Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of Defense William Perry and former Senator Sam Nunn. In the film, the four men share personal experiences that led to their vocalizing support for a world free of nuclear weapons and the steps needed to get there. The film is introduced by General Colin Powell, narrated by actor Michael Douglas, and includes interviews with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.
In 2005, the Clinton Franciscans took a corporate public stand against all use, testing or production of nuclear weapons. The issue has been a priority of the Clinton Franciscan Center for Active Nonviolence and Peacemaking (CANV) advocacy work ever since.
Clinton Franciscans actively lobby their Congressional representatives, urging full ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, the new START Treaty with Russia on reduction of numbers of nuclear weapons, and compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The United States is the only member of the U.N. Security Council that has not ratified the Test Ban Treaty.
The Clinton Franciscans are active supporters of Pace e Bene, the Franciscan service in Active Nonviolence based in Las Vegas, which publicizes and protests against nuclear testing in the western desert and throughout the world. They are also members of the Board of the Iowa United Nations Association and of Franciscans International, the Franciscan NGO at the U.N.
For details on the Nagasaki Day program, call the Sisters of St. Francis, (563) 242-7611 or see www.clintonfranciscans.com.
