Peace activists gather Friday in front of the White House to observe the 68th anniversary of the U.S. bombing of Nagasaki, Japan. (Ted Majdosz)
About 20 peace activists came together Friday in front of the White House to commemorate the 68th anniversary of the U.S. nuclear bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, according to Art Laffin, a member of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker.
The group, which included members of Jonah House, Pax Christi Metro-DC, Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition, the Murphy Initiative, and a missionary Oblate from Brazil, opened the vigil with an apology to the Japanese people, a call to repentance for nuclear warfare and a plea to close all nuclear weapons facilities, disarm all weapons and abolish war.
The activists drew chalk shadows representing victims of the bombs on the street in front of the White House and read a poem, "Shadows on the Rock" by Jesuit Fr. Daniel Berrigan. Testimonies from atomic bomb survivors spoke of the deaths and illnesses the bombing caused.