By John Liebmann
The first half of 2026 has been filled with many events that are deeply concerning, but this was also the occasion for the release on May 15 of Pope Leo’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas. In it, the pope explained that the Catholic Church has long been working for nuclear disarmament because great technical power can impact people’s lives and must be accompanied by adequate moral discernment and public control.
In his words “nuclear disarmament remains a service to peace and the dignity of the human family.” Magnifica Humanitas uses the example of nuclear disarmament to address the issue of artificial intelligence. He argues that AI also needs to be “disarmed” and that decisions about its use should not be left to the tech elites. AI must be at the service of all and of the common good.
Meanwhile, the eleventh Review Conference for the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty concluded in late May at the United Nations in New York. The conference president, Do Hung Viet from Vietnam, reported that consensus on an outcome document had not been reached. This was the third conference in a row that had failed to reach consensus, a blow to international peace and security. It comes several months after the expiration of the last bilateral arms control treaty, New START, between the United States and Russia.
And during the first week of April the American White House asked the Congress to approve nearly $1.5 trillion for defense spending in fiscal year 2027. The current military budget is about a $1 trillion; this new request represents spending from 40 to 50 percent higher at a time when there have been many calls for reduced defense spending. The administration at the same time is calling for major cuts in domestic spending; the president said that military spending needs to be the priority; the states, in his opinion, “the states can take care of the rest.”
This proposal for unprecedented military spending recalls the warning of a former president and army general, Dwight Eisenhower. In his last address to the nation on January 17, 1961, Eisenhower said: “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist . . . Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machine of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together.”
Now we are confronting challenges like this proposal for unprecedented defense spending. The huge increased request also includes a provision called “mandatory funding.” These funds would be available to the Department of Defense to spend as it sees fit without the traditional oversight.
Where can one look for guidance during these unsettling times. Pope Leo has provided an example with his brave public stance. Where else?
A first place to look would be to consult Article VI of the NPT. Nation states with nuclear weapons like the United States and Russia are signatories to the treaty and, as such, have legally binding obligations to negotiate effective measures to end the arms race and achieve nuclear disarmament as part of general and complete disarmament. Nations without these weapons agree, in turn, not to develop them. The International Court of Justice in 1996 unanimously found: “There exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control.”
Another resource is Alex Jack’s multi volume Spiral of History that expands on the work of educator, Michio Kushi. Volume I points out that history moves in a spiral or wavelike pattern. Mr. Kushi observed that the complementary opposite tendencies in Far Eastern philosophy, Yin and Yang, helped explain the movement from contraction to expansion. The Spiral of History is a framework to better understand their application in human development and social change.
For example, on the physical level, the Spiral is moving inward at an accelerated pace due to technological advances. The rise of artificial intelligence is a development that raises many unanswered questions, especially in the domain of nuclear weapons. Risk may be increasing while safeguards are weakening. To address this threat, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand recently introduced the Secure and Accountable Military AI Act. It provides a comprehensive frame to govern how the Department of Defense deploys, secures and uses AI and to ensure that humans retain decision-making authority in nuclear command, control and communications. She will be seeking co-sponsors for this legislation.
On the energetic level, Alex Jack observes that the Spiral of History is moving outward “as a result of spiritual and intellectual development with increased awareness, compassion and universality.” An example is the ratification in 2021 of the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Nations that do not possess these weapons (in partnership with civil society) negotiated a new treaty that addressed the human costs of these weapons. They did not wait for their counterparts possessing these weapons to take the lead. A major impetus was the committed action of the Hibakusha, Japanese survivors of the atomic blasts. They collected millions of signatures citing the dangers of testing and declared that these weapons must never be used again. They campaigned for their abolition and requested action at the UN to move the process forward.
Another resource providing guidance is Michio Kushi’s autobiography, One Peaceful World, written with Alex Jack. In it he describes how he was inspired to devote his life to world peace when he visited Hiroshima in September 1945, one month after the atomic bombing of that city. It led him to journey to the United States in 1949 where, with his wife Aveline, he helped to develop macrobiotics and the natural foods movement. He had learned from George Ohsawa that daily food was the most important factor in personal health and serenity. He concludes the chapter on the Origins and Causes of War: “Like good health, from which it is inseparable, peace is the natural birthright of every human being and naturally follows from eating simply and living in harmony with the surrounding environment.”
And peace begins across the kitchen table. This has been a very useful reminder for me. It is particularly relevant when considering recent requests for additional military spending. Reducing nuclear tensions and making progress for a safer, more peaceful world will come when people start talking together again, even when they share meals together. As Pope Leo has observed, diplomacy is a vocation and it requires perseverance, humility, patience and openness to the other.
John Liebmann is chairperson the All Souls Nuclear Disarmament Task Force at All Souls Church in New York. It has advocated and educated for programs in line with the sixth Unitarian principle: the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all. The Task Force has worked with partners in civil society to bring new scientific information forward about the disastrous impacts of nuclear winter. It has also engaged the congregation and ask that they contact their Members of Congress on a variety of issues.