Religious Leaders Unite to Promote Common Causes
Final Declaration Directed to G-8 Leaders, All Believers
MOSCOW, JULY 6, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The World Summit of Religious Leaders ended on Wednesday with a joint message from Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and Shintoists to the G-8 leaders and all believers.
“We, the representatives of different religions and confessions, were unanimous in affirming that it is indispensable to put an end to the constant increase of opposition between people, with violence, cruelty and terrorism,” said Patriarch Alexy II, on closing the summit.
“Our mission is to remind the world of the imperishableness of the moral values that each religion and confession professes. Each one of us preaches on this. But today, we say it with one voice, which heads of government, international public opinion and our faithful must finally heed,” said the Patriarch.
According to the summit’s final message, “dialogue and partnership among civilizations should not just be slogans.”
Value of life
“The human being is the Creator’s unique creation whose existence reaches into eternity,” the declaration states. “Humans should not become either a commodity or an object of political manipulation or an element of the production and consumption machine.”
Therefore, it is necessary “to assert constantly the highest value of human life from conception to the final breath and natural death.”
The religious leaders of the summit called “for more assistance to the family, particularly in its formative mission by national and international law and the practice of states, various public institutions, religious communities and the mass media.”
“We deplore the activities of pseudo-religious groups and movements destroying the freedom and health of people as well as the ethical climate in societies,” the summit leaders continued. “Using religion as a means for rousing hatred or an excuse for crimes against individuals, morality and humanity present a major challenge today. This can be effectively addressed only through education and moral formation.”
“We call for an end to any insult to religious feelings and defilement of texts, symbols, names or places held sacred by believers.”
Economy and resources
“Human life is also interrelated with the economy. International economic order, as all other spheres of global architecture, should be based on justice. All economic and business activities should be socially responsible and carried out using ethical standards. This is what makes the economy really efficient, that is, beneficial to the people,” the declaration continued.
In regard to the care of natural resources, leaders of the summit said that “it is imperative that all governments and the business community alike be responsible stewards of the resources of our planet.”
“These resources, as given to all generations by the Creator, should be used for the benefit of everyone. All nations have the right to use their resources, sharing them with others, as well as to develop technologies for their effective use and preservation.”
The final message states that “interreligious dialogue should be maintained by religious leaders and experts, and enriched by the contribution of ordinary believers.”
The summit leaders concluded with a “special appeal to all believing people,” urging them “to respect and accept one another regardless of their religious, national or other differences.”
