Why do we address these matters fraught with such complexity, controversy and passion? We speak as pastors, not politicians. We are teachers, not technicians. We cannot avoid our responsibility to lift up the moral dimensions of the choices before our world and nation..... What are we saying? Fundamentally.... that the decisions about our nuclear weapons are among the most pressing moral questions of our age. While these decisions have obvious military and political aspects, they involve fundamental moral choice. In simple terms we are saying that good ends (defending one's country, protecting freedom, etc) cannot justify immoral means (the use of weapons which kill indiscriminately and threaten whole societies) With this as their own summary, the catholic Bishops of the United States have issued a ground-breaking pastoral letter on the challenge of peace.