wfn.org | PARLIAMENT OF WORLD'S RELIGIONS APPEALS TO SECULAR SECTORS

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@wfn.org>]

Oct. 20, 1999
Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions
John Dart, 88 363 3984, jdartnews@aol.com
Mim Neal, 312 -629 2990, mimneal@cpwr.org
http://www.cpwr.org

By John Dart, Media Consultant
Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions

         CHICAGO, Oct. 20- Declaring that an era of "shared ethical
principles" is dawning, leaders of the upcoming Parliament of the World's
Religions urged that religion work creatively with governmental, business,
scientific, mass media and other globally influential institutions toward a
"just, peaceful and sustainable world."
         The Chicago-based Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions
(CPWR) issued "A Call to Our Guiding Institutions," as a major focus of the
1999 event.   Some 6,000 people are expected to participate in the Dec. 1-8
Parliament in Cape Town, South Africa, which will include seminars,
performances, celebrations and commended examples of service.
         A non-legislative Assembly of religious leaders, scholars, teachers
and activists will consider ways to implement the "Call" during the last
three days of the Parliament.  The document draws upon suggestions from
more than 500 leaders from around the world.
         His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Parliament's closing speaker, will
join Assembly discussions among religious leaders of myriad faith
traditions.  These will include an official representative of the Vatican
and Dr. Abdullah Omar Nasseef, president of the Muslim World Congress and
former head of the World Muslim League.
         The Call's 48-page text urges believers to apply their common
ethical principles of non-violence, human dignity and compassion with
secular organizations of good will to work together against persistent
poverty, deprivation of human rights and patterns of ecological damage.
         "The Call document appeals to people in these institutions not so
much to convince them of a particular agenda," said the Rev. Dirk Ficca,
CPWR executive director, "but to establish partnerships and projects around
those values and concerns about which they are already convinced."
         Rather than seeking solutions within the framework of older 20th
Century ideological conflicts- monarchy vs. democracy, capitalism vs.
communism, First World vs. Third World- the 1999 Parliament is directing
its appeals to strong, new arenas of expertise that operate almost
independently in the world. The ability of institutions in those arenas to
"influence the character and course of human society," as the Call put it,
is illustrated by current concerns over stock market gyrations, graphic
violence in movies and genetic experimentation in plants and animals.
         "Essential to such efforts (for a global ethic) is the
acknowledgment that we live in a world in which powerful institutions
exercise a significant and inescapable influence on our collective future,"
according to the document.
         Although the Call counts government and religion as important
forces for social/moral guidance, the text also issues invitations for
cooperation to six other strong spheres of cultural influence: 1)
agriculture, labor, industry and commerce; 2) education; 3) arts and
communications media; 4) science and medicine; 5) intergovernmental
organizations such as the United Nations, and 6) voluntary associations of
civil society ranging from sports bodies to political movements.
         "The document does not identify or denounce 'the bad guys' or
declare the various elites as either all evil or all good," said Jim
Kenney, CPWR international director and one of the writers of the Call.
"Instead it appeals to the best in each institution and their people,
calling for actions that take us all in new directions, including religion."
         Because past interreligious relations "have been marred by
intolerance, oppression, and even violence," religion itself was the first
"guiding institution" addressed in the Call. While emphasizing positive
steps, the appeal also asks religious groups "to safeguard against the use
of religious and spiritual belief and practice as briefs for intolerance,
tools for political manipulation, or warrants for conflict, terror and
violence."
         The "Call to Our Guiding Institutions," which went through four
drafts over two years, expands upon "Towards a Global Ethic: An Initial
Declaration" that was crafted for the 1993 Parliament of the World's
Religions in Chicago. That meeting's success led the CPWR governing board
to hold the event every five years, starting in Cape Town.
         Today, ethnic wars, diseases, economic greed and other ills require
dialogue and cooperative action by spiritual and secular groups, according
to the Call. "Wrenching poverty, exacerbated by systemic justice and
inequitable distribution of resources, gives rise to disease, crime,
violence and
hopelessness," the document said.
         The Call generally avoids naming proposals or stances taken by
influential organizations. Instead, its appeals are couched in words that
leave room for the Assembly to discuss concrete collaborative projects
during the Parliament. For instance, the Call asks intergovernmental
organizations such as the European Union, the World Bank and the
International Money Fund "to work together with other guiding institutions
to reduce and soon to eliminate the crushing debt of the poorest nations,"
but without reference to specific steps.
         While endorsing individual human rights---that each person is
"worthy of a meaningful life"---the Call weaves through its pages a
philosophy of responsibility for human society as a whole. "If we are
unaware of our fundamental connection to one another, we will not choose to
work for justice and therefore will find no peace," it said.
         Religion and government both were asked "to bring religious
teachings and values to bear in the struggle" against corruption,
dishonesty and bribery at all levels of government.
With indigenous cultures in mind, the Call also asked educators to broaden
access to new technology while "honoring local knowledge and traditional
ways of knowing" and appealed to medical experts to "honor and learn from
traditional modes of healing in concert with modern technological
perspectives on the human body."
         Envisioning a future in which "the diverse religions, spiritual
paths and cultures" are respected, the document urged religious communities
to promote service---in partnership with the poor and vulnerable---to other
humans and to the Earth. That would affirm their teachings on social
justice and "life lived in ever-deepening relationship to Ultimate
Reality," the Call's umbrella term for what "our traditions call by various
names (the Absolute, Allah, Brahman, Dharmakaya, God, Great Spirit)."
************************************************
Ms. Mim Neal
Public Relations Manager

Mr. John Dart
Media Consultant - CPWR / California
Tel. / Fax: 818-363-3984
E-mail: mailto:jdartnews@aol.com

CPWR Tel.: 312-629-2990
       Fax: 312-629-2991 / 3552 / 1287
Direct Line for Mim Neal: 312-629-1120
Web site:  http://www.cpwr.org
parliament General Info: mailto:99info@cpwr.org