Reflection on the Way we Talk
by Mary Sawyer

CORPORATE  STANCE ON NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT

August, 2010

The Sisters of St. Francis of Dubuque, Iowa, are committed to making peace and practicing non-violence. As one expression of that commitment, the congregation issued the following corporate stance in response to current issues related to nuclear disarmament that demand the attention and action of those committed to peace.

Our mission as Sisters of St. Francis of Dubuque, Iowa, is to live in right relationship with all creation.  We oppose the maintenance, manufacture, testing, development and threatened use of all nuclear weapons. Therefore, we call on our elected representatives to ratify, and our government to enact the treaties that mandate nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, and a comprehensive ban on testing.  We also ask for an annual audit of Pentagon spending for the creation and storage of a nuclear arsenal.

In January 1983, we took a corporate stance opposing the production, storage, and use of nuclear weapons.  Subsequent developments cause us now to reiterate our stance and focus on specific treaties.

We call on our sisters, our associates, and the communities of people with whom we live and work to:

• Pressure the U.S. government to respect the two-pronged nature of the non-proliferation treaty and to put as much emphasis on disarmament as on non-proliferation
• Urge the Senate to ratify the Strategic Arms Reduction and Comprehensive Test Ban Treaties
• Insist on a annual audit of Pentagon spending on nuclear weapons

The Treaties and the Need for Audit