Conference on ‘Promoting Peace Together’
Ecumenical Centre, Geneva
21^st May 2019

Opening Address

H.E. Bishop Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot
Secretary
Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue

Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, Secretary General of the WCC,
Your Excellencies,
Distinguished representatives of other religious traditions
Distinguished Guests,
Dear Sisters and Brothers, 

I am grateful to Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, Secretary General of the WCC and the staff for organising this seminar to disseminate the message of the historic Document on ‘Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together.’ I also thank you all for your valuable presence on this occasion. 

Since the beginning of His Pontificate, Pope Francis has always invited us to promote a ‘culture of dialogue’ through mutual respect and friendship. In this regard, the Document on ‘Human Fraternity’ is truly a milestone on the path of interreligious dialogue. It marks how far we have come together, but it is also a point of departure. It is a new dynamic which takes us from being only face-to-face, to our standing shoulder-to-shoulder in order to promote peace and coexistence by looking at the future together. Thus, the Document on Human Fraternity is not so much a map, but a day-to-day commitment of working together for the common good and contributing, as believers, along with people of good will, to heal our wounded world.

By fraternity, it is intended human relationships that draw from the depth of the meaning of family – sister/brother – not only fellowship or friendship, but also the inextricable bond that is the human family. Fraternity cannot mean exclusive to my group, community, culture, religion but inclusive of all. Fraternity can be the dynamic, as the Document suggests, by which we rise above differences and instead build bridges of coexistence for a new world. 

Through our efforts in Interreligious Dialogue, as members of one human family, we promote the dignity of each person, recognizing her or him as sisters and brothers, at all times in every part of the world. We do not start at zero in dialogue: there is always our shared humanity, with all its existential and practical aspects, which provides the needed meeting ground.

Pope Francis in his speech at the Global Conference of Human Fraternity said: "There is no alternative: either we will build the future together or there will be no future. Religions in particular cannot renounce the urgent task of building bridges between peoples and cultures. The time has come when religions should more actively exert themselves, with courage and audacity, and without pretense, to help the human family deepen the capacity for reconciliation, the vision of hope and the concrete paths of peace." (Address of Pope Francis at the Global Conference of Human Fraternity, Founder’s Memorial Abu Dhabi, 4.2.2019).        

Beside the well-known obstacles, confrontations, prejudices and conflicts in today’s world, the Abu Dhabi Declaration beckons us to move beyond any difficulty by remaining always rooted in our own identity, avoiding any kind of syncretism, and supported by the sincerity of our intentions. 

In this way, we commit ourselves to serve humanity through our mutual collaboration in promoting that peace which the world yearns for. Let us promote this historic Document on Human Fraternity calling everyone to reflect and study this new chance for peace and coexistence. 

As Pope Francis and the Grand Imam Ahmed Al-Tayyeb have shown us in their ‘universal call’, through their Declaration that excludes no one, no time, no place for the good of humanity, the culture of encounter and mutual knowledge is not a utopian ideal. It is a necessary condition for living in peace, and leaving a better world to future generations.  

It is my heartfelt wish and profound desire that the Abu Dhabi Declaration bring fruits for the development of a new phase of interreligious dialogue. 

Thank you so much for your interest and attention.

The Launch of the Document: 
Education for Peace in a Multi-Religious World -
A Christian Perspective

 , 
Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
Ecumenical Centre, Geneva, Geneva

21 May 2019

Reverend Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit
Your Excellencies
Distinguished representatives of other religious traditions
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID), I express my gratitude to the General Secretary, the Reverend Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit, and to the staff of the World Council of Churches (WCC) for organising the launching of the Document Education for Peace in a Multi-Religious World: A Christian Perspective, jointly prepared by the PCID and the Office for Interreligious dialogue and Cooperation of the WCC. 

The profile of the PCID notes that “The ecumenical dimension of interreligious dialogue is kept in mind.” Accordingly, the PCID has an ongoing relationship with the Staff of the Office for Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation (IRDC) of the World Council of Churches. Today’s event marks an important milestone in our continuing efforts at strengthening ecumenical relationships in view of our work of fostering interreligious dialogue.

Our daily experience confirms that we live in a fractured world and that polarisation is increasing. Along with the ecological crisis, political, economic, and social instability continues to threaten the well-being if not the very existence of the planet. Deadly terrorism, acts of religiously motivated violence, radicalisation or self-radicalisation via social media, hate speech, as well as extremist preachers, missionaries, and religious institutions that sow the seeds of hatred and violence are social scourges that must be addressed. 

The document we are launching, Education for Peace in a Multi-Religious World: A Christian Perspective, is grounded in our shared conviction that education has a vital, indeed essential role to play in resolving conflicts, preventing their recurrence, healing the wounded, restoring justice, and upholding the equal dignity of all. 

Even though this document was written by Christians and is mainly directed to Christians, it affirms that peacebuilding needs to embrace everyone. In the preamble we read, 

The purpose of this document is to encourage churches and Christian organizations to reflect on the structural roots of what has led to the disruption of peace in the world, […]. At the same time, it is hoped that the document may assist a wider conversation on education for peace involving followers of other religions, as well as social and political actors in our multi-religious world, […].

In my short presentation, I would like to summarize the contents of this important document, which has three main sections. 

The first section lays out seven reasons Christians are called to engage in education for peace. They are 

1. Christ is our peace (cf. Ephesians 2:14); 
2. As beneficiaries of Christ’s gift of peace, his disciples are called to be artisans of peace; 
3. Peace is intrinsically linked to righteousness and justice; 
4. The cherishing and valuing of education are intrinsic to Christian tradition and practice, and owe much of their significance to the biblical wisdom tradition; 
5. Peace, also understood as the restoration of right relationships, brings out the fundamental links between sin, forgiveness, and reconciliation; 
6. Peacemaking entails paying attention to both the past and the future; 
7. Christian faith in the Triune God teaches that the divine persons are really distinct from and yet related to one another. 

         Christians thus regard educating themselves and others for peace as a central way of responding to Jesus’ words to his disciples: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). 

          The second part of the document presents twelves areas and strategies for implementing peacebuilding through education. Even though all of them have implications for all ages and all sectors of society, some of them are more specifically appropriate for children, others for young people,  and still others for adults. Let me enumerate them here. 

1. The right to appropriate education for the contemporary world; 
2. Holistic education; 
3. Education for human beings, created in the image of God; 
4. The model of Jesus as teacher; 
5. Life-long learning and learning from all; 
6. Peace and power; 
7. Learning about, protecting and affirming “the other”; 
8. Use of media in peace education; 
9. Learning from and with our scriptures; 
10. Worship, spirituality, and education for peace; 
11. Prevention and reconciliation; 
12. Integrating the perspectives of development and ecology. 

          The third part of the document offers ten recommendations to churches, Christian educational institutions, and the national and regional confessional ecumenical bodies for prayerful refection. They are  

1. Study the document and reflect on what could be effective and contextually relevant methods of education for peace: 
2. Develop educational resources and curricula; 
3. Identify potential partners with whom creative, interactive, learner-centred educational tools can be developed for various levels: family, religious communities, educational institutions, and the wider society; 
4. Examine and challenge the past and present structural factors that have contributed to violence; 
5. Encourage Christian institutions of learning and church agencies, particularly those offering catechetical programmes for children and young people, to integrate elements of education for peace in spiritual and human formation; 
6. Audit how elements of religious life, including scriptural engagement, public worship, prayer, and liturgy, can contribute to fostering human solidarity for a more just and peaceful society; 
7. Request Christian bodies from around the world to study prayerfully the document “Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World: Recommendations for Conduct” to overcome disputes related to conflicting understandings of mission, conversion, and proselytism; 
8. Recall the life stories of extraordinary persons who have wrestled ecumenically and interreligiously with questions of justice and peace and ecological well-being; 
9. Call on governments to shape education in ways that promote and prioritise peace; 
10. Pray together for the cause of peace. 

In conclusion, I would call to mind the words of the Church Father St. John Chrysostom, who asks, “What greater work is there than training the mind and forming the habits of the young?” (Hom. 60, in c. 18). I would also recall the words of Saint Paul VI, who states, “The world must be educated to love peace, to build it up and defend it” (Pope Paul VI, 1968).

All of us yearn and hope for peace. Peace is a gift, a challenge, and a commitment. Together with people of other faiths and goodwill, let us dedicate ourselves to the noble task of promoting Education for Peace in a Multi-Religious World. 

Conference on Promoting Peace Together 
Interreligious Dialogue Fostering a Fraternal World
Msgr. Indunil J. Kodithawakku K. (Under-Secretary – PCID)
Ecumenical Centre, Geneva, 21 May 2019

As-salamu alaykum! Peace be with you! Pope Francis began his speech at the Interreligious meeting held on April 4 in Abu Dhabi with this traditional Arabic greeting. During these 50 days of Easter we can also recall that the risen Christ offered the same greeting to his disciples: Peace be with you.

The Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, identifies “religious extremism” as one of the causes of a “third world war [that is] being fought piecemeal.” On May 7, the Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres said that following the territorial defeat of Islamic State (ISIL) many jihadists as well as those they inspire, represent a major transnational threat.[1] These observations make it clear that we cannot speak of interreligious dialogue as a way of fostering a fraternal world without addressing the scourge of religious extremism. 

The document on Human Fraternity clarifies the nexus between religion and violence as follows:

“Terrorism […] threatens the security of people, […] and disseminates panic, terror and pessimism, but this is not due to religion, even when terrorists instrumentalize it.” 

“Every attempt to attack places of worship or threaten them by violent assaults, bombings or destruction, is a deviation from the teachings of religions as well as a clear violation of international law.”

One of the causes of terrorism is “an accumulation of incorrect interpretations of religious texts […] for the purpose of achieving objectives that are political, economic, worldly and short-sighted.”

Religious leaders rightly condemn terrorism in the name of religion. More than that, religions need to work together to eliminate the religious extremism that is used to justify terrorism. To do that,

1. Religious communities need to look inwards 

Each ethnic and religious group needs to engage in a communal examination of conscience to determine if fundamentalist/nationalist groups within its own community are or have been directly or indirectly responsible for radicalization within other religious traditions. Have the religious and political leaders of the community been silent observers, tacit supporters or active collaborators of the radicalisation of the youth in their own community? When atrocities committed, it is not enough to say ‘that’s not who we are or what our faith is about’. The right question to be asked, is: “who and what created the young men and women within our community capable of such hate and violence?” 

Some religious groups who have suffered violence committed by religious extremists, have resorted to acts of retaliation and reprisal against the entire religious community of the religious extremists who attacked them. Such violent responses only provide ammunition to the ‘outside’ fringe fundamentalist/nationalist groups as well as to religious extremists within one’s own community. Meeting violence with violence does not put an end to violence but only intensifies it. Moreover, religious communities need to be aware that local and regional secular leaders may exploit divisions within a given society to advance their own political and economic interests. 

1. Religious communities need to look outwards

 It is not enough to say that ‘terrorists have no religion’, extremists from other religious traditions are ‘fringe groups’, or ‘they deviate from the true teachings of their own religion’, or ‘they interpret their religious texts incorrectly.’ There are many other angles to explore: What is the religious ideology that underlies religious extremism? Who preaches it? Where are these preachers trained? Who finances this training and propagation? How and why are moderate religious communities exposed to and influenced by extremist religious worldviews from ‘outside’? How to tackle online radicalisation?

1. Religious communities need to foster a fraternal world through interreligious dialogue

 The vast majority of people wish to live in harmony and friendship with the followers of other religious traditions. For that to be possible, we need to heal the wounds and dispel the mistrust created by religious extremism. In this regard; Pope Francis noted in his keynote address in Abu Dhabi, “There is no alternative: We either build the future together or there will not be a future.” 

         What role can religion play in the construction of world peace? The document on Human Fraternity proposes that the various religious traditions first of all need to recognize that “The pluralism and the diversity of religions, colour, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings.” The Document says that religions then need to work together to

• Foster reconciliation and fraternity among all believers, indeed among believers and non-believers, and among all people of good will;
• Promote the authentic teachings of religions, namely peace, human fraternity, harmonious coexistence, wisdom, freedom, justice, and love;
• Awaken religious awareness among all, especially among the young;
• Refrain from using the name of God to justify acts of murder, exile, terrorism, and oppression;
• Promote a culture of dialogue with all and at all levels to construct full citizenship for all;
• Reject the discriminatory use of the term minorities.

Conclusion

The document on Human Fraternity invites “all persons who have faith in God and faith in human fraternity to unite and work together” and also offers a counter-narrative against religious extremism, which is now one of those major global challenges that States can no longer handle alone. The international community must come together to combat it, doing so by 

• analysing the root causes behind religious extremism; 
• eliminating the underlying causes;
• exposing the contradiction namely the violence that is labelled religious is condemned, whereas violence that is labelled secular is not regarded as violent but as peace-making: 
• fostering education inspired by respect for human life and diversity;
• combatting the use of the internet to promote radicalization; 
• promoting inclusivity and respect for cultural, religious, and ethnic differences at the national level. 

Let me conclude with the appeal made by Pope Francis in Abu Dhabi: “Together, as brothers and sisters in the one human family willed by God, let us commit ourselves against the logic of armed power, against the monetization of relations, the arming of borders, the raising of walls, the gagging of the poor; let us oppose all this with the sweet power of prayer and daily commitment to dialogue”.

Press Release 
Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
21.05.2019

Conference on “Promoting Peace Together” and the launch of the document “Education for Peace in a Multi Religious World: A Christian Perspective”

At the Ecumenical Centre
Geneva 21.05.2019

In continuation of their fraternal joint co-operation, the World Council of Churches (WCC) with the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID) are organising a Conference on “Promoting Peace Together”, at the Ecumenical Centre, in Geneva, on 21 May 2019. The participants will include representatives of International Organisations as well as the Diplomatic Corps present in Geneva. This Conference will focus on two historic documents related to peace-making: 

• Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together jointly signed by Pope Francis and by Dr Ahmad Al Tayyib, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar on 4 February 2019 in Abu Dhabi.
• Education for Peace, in a Multi-Religious World: A Christian Perspective, jointly prepared by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the World Council of Churches, which will be officially launched, at the end of this event, by H.E. Bishop Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, Secretary of the PCID and Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit, General Secretary of the WCC.  

The collaboration between the PCID and the Office for Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation of the World Council of Churches (WCC), began in 1977. In this collaboration, both Offices have so far produced several common interreligious documents, namely, Interreligious Prayer (1994); Reflection on Interreligious Marriage (1997) and Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World: Recommendations for Conduct (2011). 

This event marks an important milestone in the continuing joint efforts of the WCC and the PCID aimed at strengthening ecumenical relationships through the fostering of interreligious dialogue.