Top Vatican officials call for world free of nuclear weapons Dec 17, 2020 rome bureau chief In this July 4, 2017, file photo distributed by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, second from right, inspects the preparation of the launch of a Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in North Korea's northwest. (Credit: Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP.) Opening a Vatican-sponsored webinar, Cardinal Peter Turkson, head of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, said that the Holy See aims to shine a light on the “catastrophic impact” of nuclear deterrence, mutually assured destruction and the arms race have in society, while renewing the pope’s call for a world free of nuclear weapons.