NEW DELHI, India, SEPT. 3, 2006 (ZENIT.org).- About 800 religious leaders from more than 100 countries participated in the 8th World Assembly of Religions for Peace in Kyoto, Japan.
“At a time when religion is being hijacked by extremists, the religious leaders gathered in Kyoto to demonstrate [to] the entire world the power of religious communities to illuminate the path to peace when they work together,” said William Vendley, secretary-general of Religions for Peace.
“The Kyoto Declaration offers a new vision of shared security that properly places religious communities at the center of efforts to confront violence in all its forms,” he added.
The theme of the Aug. 26-29 conference was “Confronting Violence and Advancing Shared Security.”
Archbishop Vincent Concessao of New Delhi, in an analysis published by the Indian bishops’ news service, wrote of the conference: “The emphasis was on the word ‘shared.’ It indicated that peace is indivisible. Either all enjoy it or none. In a global village that our planet is, there cannot be islands of peace.
“The delegates,” he added, “were determined to mobilize their religious communities to work together and with all sections of society to stop war, struggle to build more just communities, foster education for justice and peace.”
