Pope Leo on Wednesday criticised the "illusory security" of the global nuclear deterrence system, in an appeal on the 80th anniversary of the United States dropping an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima at the end of the Second World War.

Pope Leo XIV commemorated the 80th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Wednesday and prayed for the those who perished in the western Japanese city at the end of World War II.

In a similar message for the landmark anniversary, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, called on the international community to renew its commitment to lasting global peace.