Senior Vatican official urges nations to ratify nuclear ban treaty: Mainichi interview
January 22, 2021 (Mainichi Japan)
Vatican Secretary for Relations with States Paul Richard Gallagher is seen in this November 2019 photo. (Mainichi/Hanayo Kuno) HIROSHIMA Ahead of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons going into effect on Jan. 22, the Mainichi Shimbun interviewed Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the secretary for relations with states of the Vatican the first state to ratify the treaty among 51 countries and regions that have done so. In his written response, Gallagher stated, The ultimate goal of the total elimination of nuclear weapons is both a challenge and a moral and humanitarian imperative, and called for countries that have not yet joined the treaty to ratify it.