Pope Leo XIV marked the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster with an appeal for atomic energy only to be used for peaceful purposes.
VATICAN CITY: The deadly explosion at the Soviet-era plant “marked the conscience of humanity” and “remains a warning of the risks inherent in the use of increasingly powerful technologies,” the US pontiff said at the end of a prayer service at the Vatican.
“I hope that at all levels of decision-making, discernment and responsibility will always prevail, so that every use of atomic energy may be at the service of life and peace,” the 70-year-old said.
The 1986 explosion at Chernobyl, in current day Ukraine, was the worst civilian nuclear disaster in history.
A 2005 UN report put the number of confirmed and projected deaths from radiation exposure at 4,000 in the three worst-affected countries, while other NGOs and bodies have given higher tolls.
Some 600,000 people involved in the clean-up operation, known as “liquidators,” were exposed to high levels of radiation.
