Bruce Kent

It was his Christian faith that brought him to reject nuclear weapons as fundamentally immoral because, even without their use, nuclear deterrence itself ...

His leadership of CND in the 1980s was the embodiment of integrity, creativity and sheer determination. Kate Hudson, general secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said: “Bruce Kent transformed the scope and confidence of the anti-nuclear movement beyond all recognition. He never let up and was forever optimistic and inspiring, even at the most difficult of times.” Bruce became well known and influential in his national role in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and with Pax Christi, the international Catholic Peace Movement. His clarity of thought and deep Christian faith brought light and direction to many people wrestling with the complex arguments around war and peace. May he now rest in the peace of Christ to which he dedicated his life.” Among his heroes was Franz Jägerstätter, the Austrian farmer who was executed in 1943 for refusing to fight in Hitler’s army.

It was his Christian faith that brought him to reject nuclear weapons as fundamentally immoral because, even without their use, nuclear deterrence itself ...

His leadership of CND in the 1980s was the embodiment of integrity, creativity and sheer determination. Bruce Kent transformed the scope and confidence of the anti-nuclear movement beyond all recognition. For more than fifty years Bruce was an utterly determined advocate for peace, and a relentless campaigner against the idiocy of nuclear weapons. May he now rest in the Peace of Christ to which he dedicated his life. Bruce became well known and influential in his national role in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and with Pax Christi, the international Catholic Peace Movement. His clarity of thought and deep Christian faith brought light and direction to many people wrestling with the complex arguments around war and peace. With his warmth and wit, Bruce Kent was a popular speaker with audiences of all ages from primary schools to pensioners’ groups.

As CND general secretary in the 1980s, he increased membership twelvefold and became a thorn in the side of Margaret Thatcher's government.

But he moved to the sidelines of CND, though re-emerging to lead protests at air bases during the Gulf War. Critics saw no coincidence in his withdrawing from the leadership once it lacked a high profile. That September he joined the Labour Party, and weeks later was elected chairman of CND a second time; with arms talks under way, membership was down to 75,000. But it took a visit to Biafra in 1969 to convince him he had to “get my hands dirty”. The sight of starving children surrounded by British-made armoured cars was Kent’s epiphany; on his return he became secretary of the Co-Ordinating Committee for Action on Nigeria-Biafra. He was arrested outside RAF Sculthorpe and charged with criminal damage to the fence, but the case was dropped after he elected for trial by jury. He irritated the leadership by successfully moving a further resolution demanding a drastic cut in defence spending, but the victory was hollow. With Mrs Thatcher re-elected by a landslide and the arrival of Cruise imminent, Kent urged British troops to question orders to protect the missiles. He was one of the leaders of CND’s 1973 march on Faslane, and the next year became chaplain to Pax Christi, the Catholic peace movement, hailing Pope Paul VI as a peacemaker. Then we came to a compromise: I agreed to go to university first, and if I was still determined to be a priest at the end, he wouldn’t make a fuss. He brought the Anglican Archbishop Ramsey to speak there, and raised theological doubt over the ordering of Polaris submarine crews to commit “mass murder”. Thus began his journey to CND. The Right, and the Soviet defector Vladimir Bukovsky, whom Kent threatened to sue for libel, claimed that CND under his leadership was a Soviet catspaw. Any general who admitted to a flaw in the doctrine of deterrence found Kent quoting him as a convert; comments by Earl Mountbatten just before his assassination that “civilian resistance” could be more effective than nuclear defence were latched on to with particular zeal. Yet Kent did not expect demonstrations to win the argument: he aimed to reach “moderate people” by organising in churches, trade unions and professional groups.

Bruce Kent, the anti-nuclear weapons activist and retired priest who was the driving force behind CND, has died after a short illness, his family has ...

Bruce Kent claimed that he stumbled into the peace movement “sideways and by accident” while a parish curate in Kensington. “A couple of nice New Zealand girls in the youth club asked me where they might go on holiday,” he told The Times in 2001. He was 92. OBITUARY

The vice-president for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament died on Wednesday, according to a statement released on its website.

He was one of the finest human beings I have ever met.” Mr Kent, who was a retired Catholic priest, was vice-president of Pax Christi – the Christian peace organisation – and emeritus president of the Movement for the Abolition of War at the time of his death. “He lived out his faith in everything he did – for the marginalised and the poor – and he gave his all with such a great sense of fun.

THE Christian peace-campaigner Bruce Kent died on Wednesday, aged 92, after a short illness, his fam...

He was one of the finest human beings I have ever met.” She continued: “His leadership of CND in the 1980s was the embodiment of integrity, creativity, and sheer determination. Bruce’s razor-sharp intellect, together with his humour, tireless work, intolerance of flannel, and total commitment to his faith and principles, made him a leader of our movement beyond compare.

Bruce Kent: who was peace campaigner dead at 92, what were his views on nuclear weapons, and what is the CND? Bruce Kent became well known as an opponent of ...

He never let up and was forever optimistic and inspiring, even at the most difficult of times.” He was one of the finest human beings I have ever met.” He wanted a more compassionate and inclusive Church and a more decent and just society.