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Speeches
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E.N. Dhakal: Inspiring Youth to Help Build Peace
- Sunday, July 6, 2008
Closing Remarks the International Leadership Conference by Hon. Ek Nath Dhakal, Member of Parliament, Nepal “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
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J.F. Keane: Promoting Trust and Transparency
- Saturday, July 5, 2008
A nation’s development and peacefulness are affected by its outlook, degree of engagement with the world, and levels of interpersonal trust and transparency in its society. Those levels of interpersonal trust and transparency are outward manifestations of the fundamental value emphasized in these conferences: love.
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H.J. Moon: Address to UN / US Symposium
- Monday, June 16, 2008
The world’s religions need to come together now in a spirit of harmony, cooperation, and peace, and, together with governments, work to establish a world of lasting peace.
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I.A.S. Yusuf: Pursuit of Peace Among Religions from the Perspective of Religious Studies
- Monday, June 16, 2008
Yusuf holds that “religious education, the main medium of religious culturalization, carries upon itself the decisive task of instilling the values of peace." He urges religious educators to “adopt a civilizational viewpoint toward the cumulative religious experience of humanity.”
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L.M. Curaming: Religion as a Motivating Force in the Pursuit of Peace
- Monday, June 16, 2008
There is a story that the leaders of two nations, one a fundamentalist theocracy the other a military dictatorship, visited God to find out when the turbulence in their countries would end and their peoples would be at peace. To the theocrat’s question, “Almighty, when will the troubles of my people end?” God answered, “Not in your lifetime.” It was the turn, next, of the military dictator to ask the same question. To him God answered: “Not in my lifetime.”
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G.L. Anderson: Religion and International Peace and Prosperity
- Monday, June 16, 2008
Anderson argues that various forms of religious and secular henotheism “are divisive sources of violence” and profiles “three main roles for religion in the world that transcend culture and doctrine.” He describes alternative scenarios for “an ecumenical body or world religious leaders” to interface with the UN.
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S.S. Husain: Spirituality and the United Nations
- Monday, June 16, 2008
In the fall of 2000, the General Assembly, as part of the commemoration of the new millennium, convened the largest ever gathering of the world’s spiritual leaders, who, among other things, made recommendations on issues of human security and the eradication of poverty as a matter of priority for people of all faiths all over the world.
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G. Reyes: Steps Toward the Establishment of an Interreligious Council at the UN
- Monday, June 16, 2008
Reyes offers “a legal opinion and perspective on the establishment in the United Nations organization of an interreligious council.” He reviews the UN Charter provisions, procedures for resolutions and potential obstacles as well as opportunities.
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J. Terasawa: How Can We Address the Root Causes of Conflict?
- Monday, June 16, 2008
Terasawa argues that humanity has “not been able to find a way out of the vicious cycle of escalating violence” because state actors and international organizations, including the UN, “maintain that the way to halt conflict is through military operations.” He states that “Religion should work to change this delusion in which the whole international community is now involved.”
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M. Braybrooke: Religious Cooperation for Peace
- Monday, June 16, 2008
Braybrooke asks whether there is “a distinctive contribution that the faiths have to make to public debate.” He suggests that faith communities have particular responsibility “to hold aloft a vision of the God-given dignity and value of each person,” challenge injustice, offer forgiveness, provide for reconciliation, and foster compassion.
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J. de Venecia: The Philippine Proposal for an Interreligious Council at the UN
- Monday, June 16, 2008
De Venecia reports on the background and progress of the Philippine proposal. He highlights the support of Philippine President Arroyo, U.S. President George Bush, and others.
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Z. Rizvi: An Interreligious Council Should Be Well-Defined
- Monday, June 16, 2008
I feel that it is of very great importance that an interreligious council is perceived as and proves to be a counterbalancing force of extremism. Today in many parts of the world religion is being used as an excuse for violence and intolerance.