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5 July 2006

World religious leaders at Moscow summit denounce terrorism

Sophia Kishkovsky
Moscow (ENI). The World Summit of Religious Leaders, the largest interfaith gathering to convene in Russia since the time of the Cold War, has closed by passing a resolution condemning terrorism, economic inequality, environmental abuses and the denigration of moral values in the modern world.

"We condemn terrorism and extremism in any form, as well as attempts to justify them by religion," reads the statement, passed without a formal vote, but with no one in the 5 July final plenary session objecting to the text. "We deplore the activities of pseudo-religious groups and movements destroying freedom and health of people as well as the ethical climate in societies."

The statement is addressed to the leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) countries, who gather in St Petersburg from 15 to 17 July. Russia holds the G8 presidency this year and in his address to the religion summit's participants on 3 July, Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to bring the final document to the attention of the leaders of world's leading industrial nations.

Nearly 300 delegates, including leaders and representatives of religious communities from 49 countries, attended the event, said Metropolitan Kirill of Kaliningrad and Smolensk, the chairperson of the Department of External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church at a press conference following the end of the summit.

The Russian Orthodox Church organized the event at the initiative of Patriarch Alexei II and Russia's Interreligious Council, which brings together for dialogue the country's Orthodox Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Buddhist communities. Bishop Wolfgang Huber, chairperson of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany suggested that religious communities in other countries should study the work of the council as a model of interfaith cooperation.

Speaking on the role of religion in promoting peace with justice, the general secretary of the Conference of European Churches, Archdeacon Colin Williams said: "Too often, the impact of religious extremism on human affairs has hit the headlines in a very negative way. Rather, more attention needs to be given to the assiduous way in which churches and other faith groups have worked to promote within national, regional and international decision making the values of justice and freedom and equality."

The interfaith sweep of the summit included Hindus and representatives of Japan's Shinto religion. It was repeatedly noted that the last comparable gathering of religious leaders to take place in Moscow was nearly a quarter century ago in the context of Cold War anti-nuclear peace initiatives.

The Vatican sent a large delegation led by Cardinal Walter Kasper, signalling a notable thaw in relations between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Roman Catholic Church. Metropolitan Kirill referred warmly to Pope Benedict XVI's words of support for the summit, spoken at St Peter's Square in Rome and shown on Russian state television.

"I met with Patriarch Alexei yesterday," Cardinal Kasper told Ecumenical News International.

The conference was formally structured, with a plethora of speeches from dozens of representatives. One notable for its passion and content was delivered by Mustafa Ceric, the Grand Mufti of Bosnia, focussing on the imperative to fight poverty.

Cardinal Kasper called the fellowship in hallways and at mealtimes an essential feature of such interfaith dialogue. "You shouldn't underevaluate this," he said.

The summit's resolution did not refer to specific countries or crises, but acute issues related to the Middle East were raised in speeches and at the news conference.

"Those who conduct dialogue must have something in common," said Iranian' Ayatollah Muhammad Ali Taskhiri. "I don't see anything in common between Iran and Israel and don't believe that this dialogue could be serious," he said, noting that Iran distinguishes between Judaism and Israel. "We don't think that Zionism represents Judaism," he said. Dialogue between Judaism and Islam is possible, Taskhiri told journalists, since "these two great religions have much in common".

© 1994 - 2006 Ecumenical News International.

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