Letter.

Letter Published in The National UAE on 27 Nov 19 Pope Francis is right: humans can inflict great pain on each other This is with regard to the article Pope Francis calls for world leaders to abandon nuclear weapons (November 24): Claire Corkery’s piece was a comprehensive read. In his recent visit to Japan, Pope Francis laid a wreath at a site in Nagasaki in memory of the 74,000 victims of the bomb and called it a reminder “of the pain and horror that we human beings are capable of inflicting upon one another”. These are wise words.The pope appealed to world leaders to ban nuclear weapons. This is a good call urging leaders across the globe to take positive action. However, will international leaders listen to the request of the pontiff?Pope Francis laid a second wreath in memory of 26 Nagasaki martyrs, who were crucified in 1597 at the start of the two-century wave of anti-Christian persecution by Japanese rulers. He then travelled to Hiroshima to the site where the first atomic bomb was dropped three days before the attack on Nagasaki, killing at least 140,000 people.War, fighting and attacking one another is never a solution. The pope’s appeal for world peace is laudable.K Ragavan, Bengaluru