Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco, author of the bill which aims to revive the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP), said that he learned from Monsignor Michael Banach, a Vatican represtantive, that the pope is in favor of using nuclear energy. Banach represents the Vatican in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Cong. Cojuangco recently met up with him in China, during a conference, to get Pope Benedict’s stand on nuclear energy use. He found out that the Catholic Church supports the development of nuclear technology for medicine as well as for power generation.
Conjuangco said further:
“The personal meeting with the monsignor is especially important to me as a God-fearing individual and as a lawmaker, because our country is predominantly Catholic.”
“I am elated and relieved that I, as a Catholic, am not violating any mandate of my church after all, and that, as I have always believed, Pope Benedict XVI is a well-informed, open-minded leader who is hugely concerned about the welfare and well-being of the people, especially the poor”
The Bataan Nuclear powerplant has been a contentious issue in the Philippines. Primarily because it cost a lot, was graft ridden and was never used because of design faults. Add to that the fact that it was developed near active volcano’s and lies near a fault line.
The Philippine Catholic Church, local scientists and some environmentalist groups have voiced strong opposition to its re opening because of the environmental and safety issues surrounding the plant. Along with that was the worry that the additional money needed to rehabilitate would be an added burden to the Filipino taxpayer.
Environmentalists have also pointed out that nuclear energy is not a viable solution because it does not really generate clean energy. The nuclear fuel used to power the plant is highly toxic and that there is still no safe and reliable way of totally disposing of it.
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Category: Nuclear
