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Chairman, USCC Committee on International Policy
July 18, l991
In their 1983 pastoral letter, The Challenge of Peace: God's Promise and Our Response, the bishops supported "negotiated bilateral deep cuts in the arsenals of both superpowers, particularly those weapons systems which have destabilizing characteristics...." We welcome, therefore, the announcement that the United States and the Soviet Union have reached agreement on the long-delayed strategic arms treaty. This agreement offers important reductions in the number and kinds of long-range nuclear weapons on both sides. It deserves our strong support. At the same time, we cannot be satisfied with these reductions, and must proceed on the path of progressive disarmament by pursuing much deeper cuts in the huge nuclear arsenals that will remain even after this agreement is implemented.