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C. Gingrich: Address to Peace Summit 2023, Session II-A
Written by Callista Gingrich, U.S. ambassador to the Holy See (2017-2021)
Wednesday, May 3, 2023
Address to Peace Summit 2023
May 2-5, 2023
Good morning! It is an honor to be with you.
I would like to thank Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon for the opportunity to be here today. I would also like to thank the Universal Peace Federation and the Washington Times for sponsoring this important summit.
We are gathered here with the shared goal of advancing peace and freedom. History has shown that governments and societies that protect religious freedom are safer, more prosperous and more secure. Upholding the right to religious freedom is not only a moral necessity, but also a national security imperative.
Today, the United States stands as the world’s leading champion of religious freedom. Along with like-minded governments and partners the U.S. is committed to protecting this fundamental human right.
At present, nearly 80 percent of the world’s population lives in countries where religious freedom is severely or highly restricted. In far too many places, governments and hostile regimes deny people of faith the right to worship freely.
In North Korea, religious freedom does not exist. Religious believers are systematically targeted and persecuted for being enemies of the state. The Kim Jong-un regime is one of the most severe violators of religious freedom and the world’s worst persecutor of Christians. Using control, fear and retribution, the North Korean dictatorship seeks to eradicate Christianity within its borders. From a young age, school children are taught that religion is evil. Students are told that Christian missionaries are malicious monsters, murderers and spies. Any Christian in North Korea who dares to defy the regime and worship in secret risks being killed or sent to a labor camp as a political prisoner. Some organizations estimate that at least 50 to 70,000 Christians are in prison for practicing their faith in North Korea. For the supreme leader, there can be no god but him. Faith is an existential threat to his power.
In communist China, religious freedom also threatens the totalitarian rule of Xi Jinping. Religion in China is tightly controlled, closely surveilled and subservient to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s ideology. The party censors sermons, replaces religious images with pictures of Xi and attempts to sinicize religion. Those who practice their faith outside of party-approved institutions and do not comply with the party’s demands are subject to persecution.
The CCP is currently committing genocide against Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in western China. Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims are subject to forced labor, detention and torture. Further, as many as 880,000 Muslim children have been separated from their parents.
Persecuted practitioners of Falun Gong are also tortured, arrested and killed at the hands of the government. Both Uyghurs and Falun Gong practitioners are forced to endure horrific human rights abuses. They are targeted by the CCP’s organ harvesting industry—where their vital organs are stolen and sold.
In Nicaragua, President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo continue to persecute Catholics, who make up 50 percent of the country’s population. Despite government attempts to silence the faithful, Catholics have proven to be a strong force of opposition and resistance to the authoritarian regime.
Bishop Rolando Alvarez is known as a prominent and outspoken critic of the dictatorship.
In February, the regime attempted to force Bishop Alvarez into exile, along with hundreds of other political prisoners. But in an amazing act of courage, he refused to leave. Instead, the bishop remained in Nicaragua, where he was stripped of his citizenship and sentenced to more than 26 years in prison for allegedly being a traitor.
Dictators such as Kim Jong-un, Xi Jinping and Daniel Ortega have at least one thing in common: they fear faith and freedom because faith and freedom threaten their power and control. The brutality and atrocities occurring in North Korea, China and Nicaragua are almost unimaginable.
However, these are just a few examples of the repression, violence and discrimination endured by people of faith around the world. Even countries that support religious freedom are susceptible to the erosion of this fundamental human right. No nation is immune from those who strive to undermine the rights of citizens to worship freely.
Today, the Unification Church’s existence is being threatened and challenged in Japan. A determined campaign designed to disparage the church is currently underway. Japan must remain resolute and protect the rights of the Unification Church.
An attack on religious freedom anywhere is an affront to religious freedom everywhere. It is critical that we strongly condemn violations of religious freedom that inhibit men, women and children from exercising their faith. It is in the interest of every nation, organization and individual to uphold and protect this fundamental human right.
As we aspire to promote and protect peace and human dignity, let this gathering revitalize our shared commitment to advance and defend religious freedom around the world.
Thank you!
To go to the Peace Summit 2023 Schedule page, click here.