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J. de Venecia: Moral Values as Basis for Cooperation
Written by Hon. Jose de Venecia, Jr., former Speaker, House of Representatives, Philippines
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Excerpts of speech at the International Leadership Conference
“Toward a New Paradigm of Leadership and Good Governance
Creating a Culture of Service for Global Development and Peace”
Asuncion, Paraguay, July 2-6, 2008
There’s a church song we Filipinos sing that serves to remind us we are all responsible for one another: that none of us lives—or dies—for himself alone. We are all God’s children—beyond race, beyond religion, beyond nationality, beyond culture. For we belong to one great human family under God.
This is the rationale for two Philippine initiatives in the United Nations and in the global community, supported by the Universal Peace Federation.
• A global “debt-for-equity” proposal—to enable the poorest countries to meet their Millennium Development Goals set under the UN’s auspices in the year 2000, designed to reduce poverty by 50 percent by 2015.
• A proposal for global and regional interfaith dialogues that would bring to bear the influence of the great religions on issues between cultures and civilizations—and isolate the extremists who advocate terrorism in the name of religion.
Indeed, it has been said that there can be no peace among nations unless there is peace among the religions. And I must add, there can be no peace among the religions unless there is dialogue among the religions. Samuel Huntington has warned against the “clash of civilizations.” I believe the clash of civilizations is really the clash of religions.
These interfaith dialogues are meant to restore the moral and social order that was shattered by the 9/11 attacks and promote understanding among the great religions and the great civilizations, which has become the only basis for global peace that will endure.
Sixty nations have now co-sponsored the Philippine proposal to create an interreligious council in the UN system to manage these dialogues. Establishment of an interreligious council at the UN is a primary goal of the Universal Peace Federation.
As a start, the UN set up in late 2006 a “focal point” for interreligious dialogues. But we believe a full-fledged UN Council should be created to attend full time to these interfaith dialogues. This may take a little longer, for to create a new Council will require an amendment to the UN Charter.
The United States is a microcosm of the world in the variety of its faiths. Not only does it have Christians of every kind, but Jews, Sunnis, Shiites, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Confucianists, etc.
Hence America is well-suited to take the high moral ground and call perhaps the first full-attendance interfaith dialogue in the world. Perhaps such an epochal event could climax the presidency of George W. Bush—and be a fitting tribute to an American political family, well known for its religiosity, that has played so decisive a role in contemporary history. It was George H.W. Bush, the 41st President of the US, who provided leadership and presided over the end of the nuclear arms race and the democratic transition of the Soviet Union and its satellite states in the largest democratic transformation in history.
Hon. José de Venecia, Jr., is former Speaker, House of Representatives, Philippines; Founding Chairman, International Conference of Asian Political Parties; Chairman, CDI Asia Pacific