The Nation - News from June 26, 1988

American bishops of the Roman Catholic Church reaffirmed their conditional acceptance of the idea of nuclear deterrence. About 250 bishops issued the statement during their weekend meeting at St. John’s University, Collegeville, Minn. Elaborating on the position they took in 1983, the bishops said a policy of nuclear deterrence is morally acceptable under certain conditions, among them not using the weapons against civilian populations. “Clear criteria should be established about spending for the Strategic Defense Initiative (“Star Wars”) in relationship to other needs in legitimate defensive expenditures (conventional forces), and particularly in relation to the basic human needs of the poor,” the statement said.