Pope, other leaders, appeal for end to ‘nuclear nightmare’

By FRANCES D’EMILIO
Associated Press

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has joined other religious leaders at Rome’s Colosseum to make a plea for peace and ending what they called the “nuclear nightmare.” A ceremony at the ancient Roman arena on Tuesday capped a three-day conference on promoting world peace as fears intensify that Russia’s war against Ukraine may see atomic weapons used. In remarks to participants, Francis noted that Pope John XXIII urged government leaders exactly 60 years ago, during the U.S.-Russian Cuban missile crisis, to spare the world from a nuclear holocaust. The ceremony ended with the reading aloud of a joint appeal for peace from the pope and other religious leaders. Francis and the religious representatives in attendance signed the document.