Pope John Paul II today made a strong appeal for peace at the place where the first atomic bomb was detonated on Aug. 6, 1945. 'To remember Hiroshima is to abhor nuclear war,' he declared. 'To remember Hiroshima is to commit oneself to peace.'
'Let us embark upon the steep and difficult task of peace,' said the white-robed Pontiff, standing in bright sunshine that followed a light snow just as he began his address.
A quiet crowd of about 25,000 Japanese, including many women and children, and a sprinkling of Americans from the nearby United States Marine air base at Iwakuni, heard John Paul read his 'peace message' in 10 languages, starting in Japanese and including Chinese.
The 60-year-old Pope spoke before the memorial in Hiroshima's Peace Park, close to the epicenter of the blast that took 70,000 lives, according to United States estimates, and many tens of thousands more, according to Japanese authorities. 2 Cities Linked Forever
'War is the work of man,' said the Pope. 'War is destruction of human life, war is death.'
'Nowhere do these truths impose themselves upon us more forcefully than in this city of Hiroshima, at this peace memorial,' he said. 'Two cities will forever have their names linked together, two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.'
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