The Roman Catholic bishops of the United States approved their national pastoral letter on war and peace in the nuclear age on 3 May 1983, after a two day meeting in Chicago. The bishops present anew the traditional teaching of the Church on war and peace, they suggest how these moral principles might be translated into government policy in the nuclear age, and they discuss pastoral approaches for developing the role of Christians as peacemakers in the modern world. 'Why do we address these matters fraught with such complexity, controversy and passion?' they ask. 'We cannot avoid our responsibility to lift up the moral dimensions of the choices before our world and nation. We are the first generation since Genesis with the power to threaten the created order. We cannot remain silent in the face of such danger. We are simply trying to live up to the call of Jesus to be peacemakers in our time and situation.'
