Ordained a Catholic priest Bruce Kent is the chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
Bruce Kent joined Christian CND (the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) in 1960 while a Catholic priest. During the 1970s he was chaplain to the England and Wales branch of international Catholic peace movement Pax Christi.
He became CND chairperson in 1977 for two years, and acted as its General Secretary from 1980 - 1985. This is his second term as chair. He retired from the priesthood in 1987.
Bruce Kent has become a well-known face on television and in the press for organising and speaking at CND protests and actions condemning nuclear weapons in Britain. He also campaigns for peace internationally in his role as President of the International Peace Bureau, succeeding Seán MacBride.
He firmly believes that the work of CND is as relevant as ever, given the proliferation of conventional and nuclear weapons, and that being in possession of nuclear warheads is a threat to peace.
They are not an intelligent weapons system. Everybody knows that, but no-one's prepared to admit it.
Kent does not believe that western governments are afraid of Soviet expansion but it suits them to let the threat of Soviet invasion persist,
It's very good for a country to have a good enemy because then you keep your people quiet.
Given that Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government is not given to compromise, unilateral nuclear disarmament continues to be the only option. The way forward for Britain is to turn away from nationalism and look instead at,
Pollution, overpopulation, famine, the debt crisis, acid rain these are the real problems of the world.
This episode of 'Hanly's People' was broadcast on 16 January 1989. The presenter is David Hanly.
'Hanly’s People’ was a weekly programme featuring a guest in conversation with presenter David Hanly in a living-room setting for half an hour. Each guest was someone in the news, making the news, or behind the news. They were drawn from all spheres of public life, including politics and the arts. ‘Hanly’s People’ was first broadcast on 6 October 1986 and ended on 6 June 1991.
