wfn.org | Unity gives way to dissension at U.N. religious summit

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Note #6182 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

7-September-2000
00320

Unity gives way to dissension at U.N. religious summit

Poverty, proselytization disagreements spark sharp debates

by Chris Herlinger
Religion News Service

New York -- A kind of spiritual bonhomie was on public display during much
of the Millennium World Peace Summit, with religious leaders, attired in
their vestments and finery, issuing carefully crafted declarations and
prayers for peace.
	But some of the public politeness evaporated when, after two days, the Aug.
28-31 summit moved from the hall of the United Nations General Assembly and
into the nearby Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and the assembled leaders began the
hard work of discussing how religious communities can tackle such problems
as poverty, reconciliation and peacemaking, and environmental degradation.
	If anything, these closed-door sessions proved that religion and
spirituality are never separated from the realities of culture, society and
politics -- particularly during a time of enormous global change.
	"Religions aren't holier than other institutions," said Wendy
Tyndale,coordinator of the World Faiths Development Dialogue and the
moderator of an Aug. 30 working session on the issue of poverty. "What we
are witnessing is a microcosm of globalization and a clash of cultures."
	Indeed, the session on poverty -- at times impassioned, noisy and a little
messy -- proved just that and more.
	Roman Catholic Bishop Alvar Ramazzini of San Marcos, in the western
highlands of Guatemala, gave an impassioned opening speech in which he
declared, in a booming voice, that he did not believe in a God "that would
allow His creatures to suffer." He said it was the responsibility of
religious communities to work toward just and sustainable development "based
on human values."
	There was a visible stir among the assembled audience, perhaps tired after
sitting and largely listening to two days of prayers and official addresses.
Robed Hindus from India, Buddhists from Vietnam, and indigenous persons from
Central America and Africa all clamored for the microphone.
	Often identifying themselves only by country and faith, they exposed some
of the political, economic and religious fault lines of much of the world. A
woman from Africa condemned what she called "collaboratized stealing" on the
part of the West and its international lending institutions. A Mayan from
Guatemala made a plea for indigenous rights. A woman who has studied the
"Course in Miracles" program said the answer to poverty required a solution
"not of this world."
	But the most impassioned remarks came from Hindus from India, condemning
what they said was continued proselytizing by Roman Catholic and Protestant
Christians in India, something they linked to a legacy of Western colonial
dominance. In recent years, a number of Christian missionaries have been
killed or attacked by Hindus in India.
	The criticism of Christianity, in turn, drew an impassioned defense of
religious freedom by Cardinal Francis Arinze, the president of the
Pontifical Council on Interreligious Dialogue and the Vatican's
representative at the summit. He said international law protects the rights
of people to accept and practice the religion of their choice. As he left
the session, a clearly irritated Arinze was approached by Hindu Indians who
wanted to continue the debate.
	Sadhvi Shilapi, representing Veerayatan -- a Jainist social action
community in India -- said in an interview afterward that she was
disappointed by some of the anger that flared during the session. She said
the continued division among religions was a hazard that had to be avoided
if religious communities were to "focus on the eradication of the problems
faced by humanity at large."
	While all religions have their distinct spirituality, she said, it is on
social issues that religions could possibly unite. "If we could join our
strengths on these issues, we could be seen as a force for harmony," she
said.
	But Tyndale, the moderator, said she was neither dismayed nor surprised by
the heated nature of the session. In fact, she said, it would send a message
to the United Nations that "poverty was not just an economic process but
something that embraces the whole of life and that development must be a
multidimensional process."
	She added that in India and other countries, there is great fear about the
standardization of global culture and ideology, and religion has become
something of a force of resistance to that trend. If channeled in "the right
direction," Tyndale said, that passion "could be a very powerful force" for
non-violent social action.
	Summit leaders were to draft a formal declaration and develop a plan of
action and also decide whether to form a religious advisory council for the
United Nations.
	The summit has not been a formal U.N. event, but has been sponsored by
organizations with close ties to the United Nations.  Much of the funding
for the summit came from American media mogul Ted Turner.

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