WCC NEWS: In highly violent communities, peace advocates hold out hope

[WCC media <noreply@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches - News

IN HIGHLY VIOLENT COMMUNITIES, PEACE ADVOCATES HOLD OUT HOPE

For immediate release: 20 May 2011

As peace advocates from around the world relayed heartrending stories of
violence and oppression, they also expressed their ongoing hope that a
movement of peace will prevail during the proceedings of the second day of
the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) being held in
Kingston, Jamaica.

The advocates included religious leaders from the Middle East, India,
Brazil and the USA addressed the issue of violence from the perspective
and need for peace within communities and strengthening the dignity and
rights of all.

“As a woman, I believe we cannot have justice in the community without
having it first in the safe haven of our church," said Dr Muna Mushahwar,
a medical doctor who is a Palestinian Christian from Jerusalem.

She is intimately acquainted with being at the receiving end of
displacement, denial and oppression which hits women particularly hard.
"The church has a huge role and must take responsibility.”

Dr Deborah Weissman, who also lives in Jerusalem and serves as president of
the International Council of Christians and Jews broadened the issue
beyond the church saying that some faith communities seize on “absolute
truths” and leave no room for questioning authority.

“Throughout the world today, in the name of religion, atrocities have
been committed. In many places, there is an unholy alliance between faith
and extreme violence,” she said.

Violence does not take place in a vacuum, pointed out Prof. Ram Puniyani, a
writer-activist known for his relentless struggle to uphold the secular
ethos of India.

“Violence takes places because a large section of society is
indoctrinated with a hatred for others. They basically aim to abolish the
human rights of the weaker section of societies.”

Asha Kowtal, a Dalit activist and the leader of a female empowerment
movement in India, also spoke about the role of peace in improving women's
lives in her home country. “Today hundreds of young girls are sexually
abused by the dominant caste men,” she said.

The caste system is considered by many to be the largest systemic human
rights violation anywhere in the world today. “It results in
discrimination and exclusion,” said Kowtal.

As people at the bottom are continually denied access to opportunities and
resources, “they remain the poorest of poor, most unemployed, most hated
and most vulnerable,” she said.


Discrimination causes violence

People in Brazil also face discrimination that causes violent conflict,
said Dr Tania Mara Vieira Sampaio, a professor at the Catholic University
of Brasilia.

“In Brazil, as in the rest of Latin America, to have access to a
university is a privilege that only few people can afford,” she said.
“Our struggle to overcome the sacrifice-driven logics of the market
today and enable a more condign life for everybody also has implications
on the formation of the younger generations.”

Martin Luther King III, of Atlanta, Georgia and eldest son of slain civil
rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., said churches need to do a better
job of promoting peace in the community.

“Despite great progress, the 11 a.m. Sunday morning worship hour is still
the most segregated hour of the day,” said King. “Today, as we all
strive to affirm the dignity and rights of humankind, many tenacious forms
of discrimination continue to undermine the basic respect for human
rights.”

From a Christian perspective, the teachings of Jesus are deeply rooted in
nonviolence, he said, but peace advocacy should be the responsibility of
people from all spiritual traditions.

“The teachings of Jesus are deeply rooted in nonviolence but I believe
that all faiths can have a mandate for nonviolence in all of the holy
scriptures.”

During the next several days the IEPC will also explore peace with the
earth, peace in the marketplace and peace among peoples.  The convocation,
which is organized by the World Council of Churches, the Caribbean
Conference of Churches and the Jamaica Council of Churches concludes on
Tuesday, 24 May.

For live video streaming of the plenaries visit the IEPC website:

www.overcomingviolence.org (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=e0a7fdf0962fa11ae7e7 )

High resolution photos of the event may be requested free of charge via
photos.oikoumene.org (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=80e12dcb43b117cd9c01 )


The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness 
and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of 
churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant, 
Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million 
Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman 
Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, 
from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.



You receive this information as a subscriber of our media list. You are 
registered as Worldwide with the address wfn-editors@wfn.org.
Click here to unsubscribe or change your distribution settings 
(Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=ddc1b80578270a9a2734 ).