Pope Francis has ordered that cards be printed and distributed depicting victims of the nuclear bombing of Nagasaki.
The Pope said that the harrowing image
which shows a boy carrying his dead
brother on his shoulders while waiting
inline at a crematorium should be
captioned "the fruit of war", accompanied
by his signature.
The heartbreaking photo was captured
by US Marine photographer JoeO'Donnell
after the nuclear bombs were dropped in Nagasaki at the end of World War II. A caption adds: "The young boy's sadness
is expressed only in his gesture of
biting his lips which are oozing blood.
"After the bombing of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki in 1945, Japan's subsequent surrender ended World War II.
Photographer O'Donnell then spent a
further four years recording the
aftermath of the bombings in the two
cities, according to Libraryof Congress records.Pope Francis has previously
condemned the nuclear weapons and highlighted the plight of children
in war zones. Theharrowing image of
nagasaki victims from thePope comes
amid heated tensions between the
U.S.and North Korea.
In November, the Pontiff told an
anti-nuclear weapon conference that
the possession of nuclearweapons was now"irrational". "Today, is it legitimate
to keep nuclear arsenals as they are?
Or to save creation, to save humanity
today, isn't it necessary to go back?"
Pope Francis added.CNN's senior Vatican analyst John Allen wrote on his website:
"Though release of the photo in the
run-up to New Year's does not add
anything substantive to the pontiff's positions, it's nevertheless the first timeFrancis has asked that a specific
image be circulated in the holiday
season, suggesting he believes its
message is especially relevant at the
moment.
"The Vatican City was also said
to be desperately attempting to
open a dialogue between Pyongyang
(North Korea) and the Holy See, the
Express reported last month.
