Dean of Westminster Abbey regrets critcism of nuclear deterrent service

On Friday, Westminster Abbey hosted a service for the Royal Navy ‘recognising’ fifty years of the UK having nuclear deterrents at sea. 

The ceremony was attended by the Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, and the Abbey’s Dean did the bidding and address. 

Very Rev Dr John Hall prayed that the navy would never have to use the weapons but added: “We give thanks for all the thousands of people who have designed, built, supported, and crewed the submarines during these past fifty years and for their families, and we continue to pray for the life and work of the Royal Navy, in particular for its submarine service.”

In his address, the Dean spoke about a Japanese bishop whom he had once heard speak about his experience of witnessing the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945. The Dean explained how different things were now, with nine countries said to have nuclear weapons and that major global conflicts, he said, had been largely avoided. 

He referenced the controversy around the event: “Since we announced our intention to hold this service, I have received very many personal letters, and our communications team a very large number of emails, telling us that the General Synod, the governing council of the Church of England, had voted against nuclear weapons. Moreover, they said, the message of Jesus was about peace, not violence. They asked us repeatedly to abandon this…