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.

After losing his father, uncle and grandmother to violent and, in some cases, suspicious causes of death, Martin Luther King III still believes that that there is a higher and more noble way and that is to «dislike the evil act» but «still love the individual.»

In the case of the recent killing of Osama Bin Laden, «it is hard to feel good about that,» said King, the eldest son of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

King’s comments were made in a press conference following a keynote address Thursday which he gave to some 1,000 participants at the first-ever International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) in Kingston, Jamaica.

The convocation is being organized by the World Council of Churches, Caribbean Conference of Churches and the Jamaica Council of Churches.

«Because [the United States] said he was responsible for killing others, they assassinated him [Bin Laden]. A lot of people feel good about that. I find it hard to feel good about that,» said King.

«The U.S. had to address Bin Laden’s horrific actions in some way but killing him was not necessarily the best course of action,» he said.

«Certainly something should have been done with Bin Laden but I just don’t know if [killing him] was good. I just don’t believe in an eye-for-an-eye and a tooth-for-a-tooth. If that’s the case, we’d all be without eyes and teeth,» he said.

During the press conference, King urged churches, political leaders and citizens around the world to reach for that noble higher ground of nonviolence.

«We’ve got to reach higher. We’ve got to be better. We cannot continue to preach peace and practice war,» he said.

King also said that, collectively, churches need to do a better job of promoting peace and nonviolence.

«I hope I state this in the form of a challenge. But we in the church community, those of us who are members, must do a better job of not just working to talk about peace but to actually to live and promote peace in a better way. Quite frankly, it’s not until a crisis occurs that people seem to come together,» he said.

King said the church has a unique responsibility in bringing about peace.  «Peace will not come by one entity. It won’t be the churches alone or the United Nations. It must be the entire community that must embrace peace.»

Calling of a peaceful world

Recalling his parents and upbringing, King said that world peace might begin in individual homes. «I’m very thankful that my mother and father instilled in us certain principles and values around love.»

After his father was killed, King said he was 16 when his grandmother was gunned down, and that his uncle mysteriously drowned a year after his father was assassinated. Throughout the loss in his life, King said, «I have considered these as examples that taught me to dislike the evil act but love the people.»

King believes that nonviolence is not an unreachable ideal but a viable way for individuals and entire countries to resolve their conflicts.

«I believe that one day our people, human beings, will look back on our society and say that, at one time, we did go through archaic behavior, that violence is a thing of the past. We always have to immerse ourselves in truth. We know what is right and what is wrong,» he said.

The peace movement will be rooted in the next generation of young people, King added, and they should begin immersing themselves in the many existing methods of peace and nonviolence.

He cited the www.thekingcenter.org website, which outlines six steps of nonviolence, as well as a number of foundations named in honour of Gandhi. “You have to immerse yourself first in the topic. And then you have to talk about it. You have to tweet about it. You have to have Facebook pages about it.”

Peace could well become the focus of social media for youth, he said. “We have to make this world a better place. Tweet what people are doing. It’s young people who are going to lead this struggle. It’s your calling. Every generation has a calling. Maybe this generation’s calling is a peaceful world.”

La Convocatoria Ecuménica Internacional por la Paz (CEIP) se inauguró formalmente el miércoles en Kingston, Jamaica, con una ceremonia en que teólogos, líderes religiosos y el Primer Ministro de Jamaica dieron la bienvenida a unos mil participantes de más de un centenar de países.

El orador principal canónigo Dr. Paul Oestreicher, un activista por la paz reconocido a nivel mundial, pidió a las iglesias de todas las tradiciones espirituales que fortalezcan su posición con respecto a la paz al tiempo que reconocen las declaraciones de guerra en nombre de Dios de su propia historia.

“Bajo la señal de la cruz, las naciones cristianas conquistaron otras naciones”, dijo. “Masacraron a los hijos del islam en las Cruzadas. No se nos ha olvidado. Al igual que nuestros hermanos y hermanas musulmanes, consideramos que quienes murieron en la batalla tienen garantizado un lugar en el cielo”.

Oestreicher admitió que las complejidades políticas ponen obstáculos al camino hacia la paz.

“En la actualidad, una vez que empieza una guerra la mayoría de nuestros prójimos la consideran honorable, probablemente necesaria y a veces noble. El lenguaje utilizado oculta la cruel realidad sangrienta”, afirmó.

El Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit, secretario general del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI), moderó la sesión de apertura de la Convocatoria, que contó con un servicio de oración, saludos y las historias de iglesias que buscan la paz y la reconciliación.

“Creo que Dios nos ha llamado a reunirnos aquí desde distintos lugares del mundo para que aportemos las experiencias de nuestros países”, dijo. “Muchos de ustedes llevan consigo la realidad de la injusticia de la violencia”.

Los habitantes de la región caribeña y de Jamaica dieron la bienvenida a los participantes de la CEIP, muchos de los cuales visitaban el país por primera vez.

El primer ministro jamaiquino Bruce Golding reconoció la historia de violencia de su país y, al mismo tiempo, el ingenio y la capacidad de recuperación nacional al hacer frente a la situación durante décadas.

“Sinceramente creo que todos fuimos creados por el mismo Dios”, dijo. “El problema reside en cómo podemos transformar nuestro debate en un conjunto de valores compartidos que cuenten con la aceptación y el respaldo de todos”.

Los teólogos comenzaron planteando las preguntas con las que los participantes de la CEIP lidiarán durante la próxima semana. El metropolitano Hilarion de Volokolamsk, presidente del departamento de relaciones exteriores de la Iglesia Ortodoxa Rusa, habló de los cristianos y otras personas de todo el mundo que se ven expuestos diariamente a la humillación y las amenazas.

“La principal cuestión que debemos responder es qué podemos hacer juntos como cristianos ante el aumento de la violencia, la agresividad, la explotación y el terror”, dijo.

La CEIP tiene lugar cuando concluye el Decenio para Superar la Violencia, una iniciativa del CMI que se esforzó por consolidar los esfuerzos y redes existentes para prevenir y superar la violencia, y por estimular la aparición de nuevos empeños.

La Rev. Dra. Margot Kaessmann, teóloga luterana y pastora de la Iglesia Evangélica de Alemania, dijo que los participantes de la CEIP forman parte de un camino largo y complicado que comienza esta semana.

“Nuestras economías sacan provecho de la violencia y la guerra que nosotros lamentamos”, dijo. “La religión desempeña un papel fundamental en el mantenimiento de la paz y la superación de la violencia. Es hora de que se niegue a ser utilizada para avivar la guerra y el odio”.

Antes del plenario de apertura, se celebró un culto y un servicio de oración en los que abundaron los cánticos y las oraciones por la paz. Los acontecimientos de la tarde concluyeron con una oración del arzobispo jamaicano Donald Reece de la Iglesia Católica Romana.

Ambos acontecimientos fueron transmitidos en directo a todo el mundo por medio de un vídeo reproducido en tiempo real por Internet (streaming) disponible a través del sitio web de la CEIPwww.superarlaviolencia.org. Los plenarios de la mañana del resto de la CEIP serán transmitidos en directo de la misma forma de las 10:30 a las 12:30 hora local (GMT -5 horas).

Edificios demolidos o reutilizado

18 de mayo de 2011, HOLANDA