Cardinal Reinforces Pope's Message on Nuclear Energy

Earlier this week, we pointed to a story on how Pope Benedict supported the peaceful use of nuclear energy in a papal address. Now, one of his Cardinals is reinforcing that message:

Nuclear power should be considered a useful energy source, a senior Catholic cardinal said on Wednesday, criticising countries like Italy which have banned the technology on principal.

Weighing into a debate that sharply divides environmentalists, many of whom see nuclear as unsustainable and unsafe, Cardinal Renato Martino said nuclear power could be part of a balanced energy mix, alongside "forms of clean energy".

"With maximum safety requirements in place for people and the environment, and with a ban in place on the hostile use of nuclear technology, why should the peaceful use of nuclear technology be barred?" Martino, the Pope's justice minister, told Vatican Radio.

[...]

"Excluding nuclear energy because of a preconceived principle or for fears of disasters could be a mistake and in come cases could have paradoxical effects.

"One should think of Italy, which abandoned the production of nuclear energy in 1987 but which imports the same type of energy from France," said Martino, a former papal envoy to the United Nations.

Can't argue with that kind of logic, now can you?