Disarm or face horrors of A-war, Pope warns

February 25, 1981

Pope John Paul II launched a peace offensive in Japan, the only nation to experience the horrors of nuclear warfare, warning the world to disarm or face the threat of new Hiroshimas. The Pontiff told an overflow crowd of nearly 50, 000 Roman Catholics in Tokyo's main baseball stadium that the world could be headed for disaster like that which befell hiroshima and Nagasaki -- two cities the pope will visit before returning to Rome.

The Pope's call for peace highlighted a d ay in which he met with Emperor hirohito.