On Tuesday 18 May the Foundation for a Culture of Peace, in collaboration
with the European Council of Religious Leaders, hosted a seminar at the
Palais des Nations in Geneva on “Religions and the Building of Peace:
Fostering Intercultural and Interreligious Cooperation and Action for a
Culture of Peace.” The meeting was attended by religious representatives,
experts and members of UN delegations in Geneva.
Read more at: http://www.rfp-europe.eu/index.cfm?id=295221
27 April 2010 – Religious leaders have a vital part to play in promoting dialogue between different cultures and societies at a time when globalization has left many people feeling discontented, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has told an international gathering of leaders.
In a message to the two-day World Summit of Religious Leaders, which concludes today in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, Mr. Ban said that “when we build a culture of understanding and uphold human dignity, we build a better world.”
He noted that “we live in a changing and interconnected world,” where local events can have an impact globally and international events can also have a local impact.
“Globalization continues to transform our societies, bringing gains for many but leaving too many others untouched and discontent. These 21st-century facts compel us to strengthen cooperation – to expand the space for dialogue.”
The Secretary-General stressed that the entire United Nations system supports efforts to promote dialogue between cultures and religions, adding that the UN Alliance of Civilizations initiative has part of those efforts since 2005.
“As religious leaders, you have an essential role to play in ensuring that the values of equality, tolerance and mutual respect, which lie at the core of all the world’s greatest religions, are defended, promoted and used to truly enrich our societies.
“You can encourage dialogue that respects the importance of tradition but also embraces change. You can foster contacts and create conditions that will lead to sustainable peace, social justice and cultural cohesion.”
The World Summit of Religious Leaders was organized by the Inter-Religious Council of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
After six months of hearings, the panel of 32 lawmakers recommended a ban on the face-covering veil in all state-run institutions and offices, the broadest move yet to restrict Muslim dress in France.
The commission called on parliament to adopt a formal resolution stating that the burqa was “contrary to the values of the republic” and proclaiming that “all of France is saying ‘no’ to the full veil.”
Women who turn up at government offices wearing the full veil should be denied services such as a work visa, residency papers or French citizenship, the report recommended.
The panel however stopped short of proposing broad legislation to outlaw the burqa on the streets or in shopping centres after cautioning that such a move would have to be reviewed by the courts to establish its legality.
“The wearing of the full veil is the tip of the iceberg,” said communist lawmaker Andre Gerin, the chair of the commission.
“There are scandalous practices hidden behind this veil,” said Gerin who vowed to fight the “gurus” seeking to export a racial brand of fundamentalism and sectarianism to France.
Home to Europe’s biggest Muslim minority, estimated at about six million, France is being closely watched at a time of particular unease over Islam, three months after Swiss voters approved a ban on minarets.
President Nicolas Sarkozy set the tone for the debate in June when he declared the burqa “not welcome” in France and described it as a symbol of women’s “subservience” that cannot be tolerated in a country that considers itself a human rights leader.
 |
(17 Jan 10 – RV) Pope Benedict XVI visited Rome’s Synagogue on Sunday Afternoon.
Unofficial Translation of Pope Benedict XVI address at the Rome Synagogue
from Vatican Radio.
“What marvels the Lord worked for them!
What marvels the Lord worked for us:
Indeed we were glad” (Ps 126)
“How good and how pleasant it is
when brothers live in unity” (Ps 133)
Dear Chief Rabbi of the Jewish Community of Rome,
President of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities,
President of the Jewish Community of Rome,
Rabbis,
Distinguished Authorities,
Friends, Brothers and Sisters,
1. At the beginning of this encounter in the Great Synagogue of the Jews of Rome, the Psalms which we have heard suggest to us the right spiritual attitude in which to experience this particular and happy moment of grace: the praise of the Lord, who has worked marvels for us and has gathered us in his Hèsed, his merciful love, and thanksgiving to him for granting us this opportunity to come together to strengthen the bonds which unite us and to continue to travel together along the path of reconciliation and fraternity. I wish to express first of all my sincere gratitude to you, Chief Rabbi, Doctor Riccardo Di Segni, for your invitation and for the thoughtful words which you have addressed to me. I wish to thank also the President of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, Mr Renzo Gattegna, and the President of the Jewish Community of Rome, Mr Riccardo Pacifici, for their courteous greetings. My thoughts go to the Authorities and to all present, and they extend in a special way, to the entire Jewish Community of Rome and to all who have worked to bring about this moment of encounter and friendship which we now share.
When he came among you for the first time, as a Christian and as Pope, my Venerable Predecessor John Paul II, almost 24 years ago, wanted to make a decisive contribution to strengthening the good relations between our two communities, so as to overcome every misconception and prejudice. My visit forms a part of the journey already begun, to confirm and deepen it. With sentiments of heartfelt appreciation, I come among you to express to you the esteem and the affection which the Bishop and the Church of Rome, as well as the entire Catholic Church, have towards this Community and all Jewish communities around the world.
2. The teaching of the Second Vatican Council has represented for Catholics a clear landmark to which constant reference is made in our attitude and our relations with the Jewish people, marking a new and significant stage. The Council gave a strong impetus to our irrevocable commitment to pursue the path of dialogue, fraternity and friendship, a journey which has been deepened and developed in the last forty years, through important steps and significant gestures. Among them, I should mention once again the historic visit by my Venerable Predecessor to this Synagogue on 13 April 1986, the numerous meetings he had with Jewish representatives, both here in Rome and during his Apostolic Visits throughout the world, the Jubilee Pilgrimage which he made to the Holy Land in the year 2000, the various documents of the Holy See which, following the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration Nostra Aetate, have made helpful contributions to the increasingly close relations between Catholics and Jews. I too, in the course of my Pontificate, have wanted to demonstrate my closeness to and my affection for the people of the Covenant. I cherish in my heart each moment of the pilgrimage that I had the joy of making to the Holy Land in May of last year, along with the memories of numerous meetings with Jewish Communities and Organizations, in particular my visits to the Synagogues of Cologne and New York.
Furthermore, the Church has not failed to deplore the failings of her sons and daughters, begging forgiveness for all that could in any way have contributed to the scourge of anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism (cf. Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah, 16 March 1998). May these wounds be healed forever! The heartfelt prayer which Pope John Paul II offered at the Western Wall on 26 March 2000 comes back to my mind, and it calls forth a profound echo in our hearts: “God of our Fathers, you chose Abraham and his descendants to bring your Name to the nations: we are deeply saddened by the behaviour of those who in the course of history have caused these children of yours to suffer, and asking your forgiveness we wish to commit ourselves to genuine brotherhood with the people of the Covenant.”
3. The passage of time allows us to recognize in the Twentieth Century a truly tragic period for humanity: ferocious wars that sowed destruction, death and suffering like never before; frightening ideologies, rooted in the idolatry of man, of race, and of the State, which led to brother killing brother. The singular and deeply disturbing drama of the Shoah represents, as it were, the most extreme point on the path of hatred that begins when man forgets his Creator and places himself at the centre of the universe. As I noted during my visit of 28 May 2006 to the Auschwitz Concentration camp, which is still profoundly impressed upon my memory, “the rulers of the Third Reich wanted to crush the entire Jewish people”, and, essentially, “by wiping out this people, they intended to kill the God who called Abraham, who spoke on Sinai and laid down principles to serve as a guide for mankind, principles that remain eternally valid” (Discourse at Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp: The Teachings of Pope Benedict XVI, II, 1 [2006], p.727).
Here in this place, how could we not remember the Roman Jews who were snatched from their homes, before these very walls, and who with tremendous brutality were killed at Auschwitz? How could one ever forget their faces, their names, their tears, the desperation faced by these men, women and children? The extermination of the people of the Covenant of Moses, at first announced, then systematically programmed and put into practice in Europe under the Nazi regime, on that day tragically reached as far as Rome. Unfortunately, many remained indifferent, but many, including Italian Catholics, sustained by their faith and by Christian teaching, reacted with courage, often at risk of their lives, opening their arms to assist the Jewish fugitives who were being hunted down, and earning perennial gratitude. The Apostolic See itself provided assistance, often in a hidden and discreet way.
The memory of these events compels us to strengthen the bonds that unite us so that our mutual understanding, respect and acceptance may always increase.
4. Our closeness and spiritual fraternity find in the Holy Bible – in Hebrew Sifre Qodesh or “Book of Holiness” – their most stable and lasting foundation, which constantly reminds us of our common roots, our history and the rich spiritual patrimony that we share. It is in pondering her own mystery that the Church, the People of God of the New Covenant, discovers her own profound bond with the Jews, who were chosen by the Lord before all others to receive his word (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 839). “The Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to God’s revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews ‘belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs and of their race, according to the flesh is the Christ’ (Rom 9:4-5), ‘for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable!’ (Rom 11:29)” (Ibid).
Many lessons may be learnt from our common heritage derived from the Law and the Prophets. I would like to recall some of them: first of all, the solidarity which binds the Church to the Jewish people “at the level of their spiritual identity”, which offers Christians the opportunity to promote “a renewed respect for the Jewish interpretation of the Old Testament” (cf. Pontifical Biblical Commission, The Jewish people and their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible, 2001, pp.12 and 55); the centrality of the Decalogue as a common ethical message of permanent value for Israel, for the Church, for non-believers and for all of humanity; the task of preparing or ushering in the Kingdom of the Most High in the “care for creation” entrusted by God to man for him to cultivate and to care for responsibly (cf. Gen 2:15).
6. In particular, the Decalogue – the “Ten Words” or Ten Commandments (cf. Ex 20:1-17; Dt 5:1-21) – which comes from the Torah of Moses, is a shining light for ethical principles, hope and dialogue, a guiding star of faith and morals for the people of God, and it also enlightens and guides the path of Christians. It constitutes a beacon and a norm of life in justice and love, a “great ethical code” for all humanity. The “Ten Commandments” shed light on good and evil, on truth and falsehood, on justice and injustice, and they match the criteria of every human person’s right conscience. Jesus himself recalled this frequently, underlining the need for active commitment in living the way of the Commandments: “If you wish to enter into life, observe the Commandments” (Mt 19:17). From this perspective, there are several possible areas of cooperation and witness. I would like to recall three that are especially important for our time.
The “Ten Commandments” require that we recognize the one Lord, against the temptation to construct other idols, to make golden calves. In our world there are many who do not know God or who consider him superfluous, without relevance for their lives; hence, other new gods have been fabricated to whom man bows down. Reawakening in our society openness to the transcendent dimension, witnessing to the one God, is a precious service which Jews and Christians can offer together.
The “Ten Commandments” call us to respect life and to protect it against every injustice and abuse, recognizing the worth of each human person, created in the image and likeness of God. How often, in every part of the world, near and far, the dignity, the freedom and the rights of human beings are trampled upon! Bearing witness together to the supreme value of life against all selfishness, is an important contribution to a new world where justice and peace reign, a world marked by that “shalom” which the lawgivers, the prophets and the sages of Israel longed to see.
The “Ten Commandments” call us to preserve and to promote the sanctity of the family, in which the personal and reciprocal, faithful and definitive “Yes” of man and woman makes room for the future, for the authentic humanity of each, and makes them open, at the same time, to the gift of new life. To witness that the family continues to be the essential cell of society and the basic environment in which human virtues are learned and practised is a precious service offered in the construction of a world with a more human face.
7. As Moses taught in the Shema (cf. Dt 6:5; Lev 19:34) – and as Jesus reaffirms in the Gospel (cf. Mk 12:19-31), all of the Commandments are summed up in the love of God and loving-kindness towards one’s neighbour. This Rule urges Jews and Christians to exercise, in our time, a special generosity towards the poor, towards women and children, strangers, the sick, the weak and the needy. In the Jewish tradition there is a wonderful saying of the Fathers of Israel: “Simon the Just often said: The world is founded on three things: the Torah, worship, and acts of mercy” (Avoth 1:2). In exercising justice and mercy, Jews and Christians are called to announce and to bear witness to the coming Kingdom of the Most High, for which we pray and work in hope each day.
8. On this path we can walk together, aware of the differences that exist between us, but also aware of the fact that when we succeed in uniting our hearts and our hands in response to the Lord’s call, his light comes closer and shines on all the peoples of the world. The progress made in the last forty years by the International Committee for Catholic-Jewish Relations and, in more recent years, by the Mixed Commission of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and of the Holy See, are a sign of our common will to continue an open and sincere dialogue. Tomorrow here in Rome, in fact, the Mixed Commission will hold its ninth meeting, on “Catholic and Jewish Teaching on Creation and the Environment”; we wish them a profitable dialogue on such a timely and important theme.
9. Christians and Jews share to a great extent a common spiritual patrimony, they pray to the same Lord, they have the same roots, and yet they often remain unknown to each other. It is our duty, in response to God’s call, to strive to keep open the space for dialogue, for reciprocal respect, for growth in friendship, for a common witness in the face of the challenges of our time, which invite us to cooperate for the good of humanity in this world created by God, the Omnipotent and Merciful.
10. Finally, I offer a particular reflection on this, our city of Rome, where, for nearly two millennia, as Pope John Paul II said, the Catholic Community with its Bishop and the Jewish Community with its Chief Rabbi have lived side by side. May this proximity be animated by a growing fraternal love, expressed also in closer cooperation, so that we may offer a valid contribution to solving the problems and difficulties that we still face.
I beg from the Lord the precious gift of peace in the world, above all in the Holy Land. During my pilgrimage there last May, at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, I prayed to Him who can do all things, asking: “Send your peace upon this Holy Land, upon the Middle East, upon the entire human family; stir the hearts of those who call upon your name, to walk humbly in the path of justice and compassion” (Prayer at the Western Wall of Jerusalem, 12 May 2009).
I give thanks and praise to God once again for this encounter, asking him to strengthen our fraternal bonds and to deepen our mutual understanding.
“O praise the Lord, all you nations,
acclaim him, all you peoples.
Strong is his love for us,
He is faithful forever.
Alleluia” (Ps 117)
Venue: Catholic Renewal Centre,
Ernakulam, Kochi
Our thirty-third Congress will take place on the south-western seaboard of the Indian subcontinent, in the city of Kochi (formerly Cochin), capital of the historical “ Malabar Coast” – now the unique & distinctive state of Kerala.
Kerala runs from near the southernmost tip of India for 900km up the west coast. It is the greenest state, with numerous rivers descending from the Western Ghats range that forms its eastern border.
Among many other attractions, Kerala is noted for a long history of inter-religious harmony, throughout which local rulers embraced the arrival of other faiths.
In our age of increased religion-based tensions, it is therefore IARF’s privilege to be hosted by our India Chapter in one of the world’s historic homes of tolerance & peace between communities of different faith.
Accordingly our 2010 Congress’s theme is:
“Beyond Conflict to Reconciliation:
The Challenge of the 21st Century”http://www.iarf.net/2008site/Congress/2010/index2010.htm
The latest Newsletter is available at http://www.iarf.net/2009site/IARF%20Newsletter%20January%202010.pdf
4—7 September, 2010.
In the presence of HRH Princess Mathilde of Belgium the Belgian Council of Religious Leaders was launched at a ceremony in the Belgian Federal Parliament on Thursday 17 December. The leaders of major religions in Belgium signed the founding document of the council and expressed commitment to continue to strengthen interreligious relations in the country.
> Read more at: http://www.rfp-europe.eu/index.cfm?id=271023
Inspiring to see that USA President Obama’s speech to Nobel committee included the quote “purpose of faith — for the one rule that lies at the heart of every major religion is that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us.”
In keeping with the spirit of the popular Norman Rockwell “Golden Rule” mural at UN made possible by Thanks-Giving Foundation.
Ceremony to mark multireligious common action on climate change
Three Religions for Peace international co-presidents, Grand Mufti Mustafa Ceric of Bosnia- Herzegovina, Venerable Grace Chung Lee of Won Buddhism in Korea, and Church of Sweden Archbishop Anders Wejryd attended a multireligious ceremony on Thursday 10 December in Copenhagen. The ceremony gathered international as well as Danish religious leaders in support of world leaders’ efforts to reach agreement on climate change measures. It is a follow up of an international conference of religious leaders on climate change in 2008 initiated by archbishop Wejryd. Rev Dr Hans Ucko, President of Religions for Peace, Europe, organises the ceremony. On the opening day of the Climate Summit he wrote from Copenhagen: “When faced with threats to
justice, peace and our environment, there are possibilities to discover our common humanity across religious and cultural boundaries. And in situations of crisis we become more open to listen to and receive the spiritual resources of each other.”
News from RELIGIONS for PEACE :
Strong participation from Religions for Peace at the Parliament of the World’s Religions
Make a World of Difference: Hearing each other, Healing the earth has been the topic of some 8000 people gathered in Melbourne, Australia for the 5th Parliament of the World’s Religions from 3 December to 9 December 2009.
Among the participants and speakers are a number of Religions for Peace
representatives, including Dr. William Vendley, Secretary General for
Religions for Peace. Dr. Vendley gave several sessions including one on
Conflict Transformation and Peace Building where he emphasised the role of religion in periods of mediation and in times of peace building and
reconciliation. Dr. Vendley says: “Religion and interreligious cooperation often offers different perspectives, not only on the conflict itself but on the solutions and the processes towards it.” Dr. Vendley also participated in a panel together with Dr. Tariq Ramadam and Rabbi Michael Melchior discussing War and Peace in Al-Islam: The Prophet’s Struggle. The panel underlined the importance of including the context when dealing with holy texts. Dr Tariq Ramadam emphasised that the world for a long time has been divided in “us and them” and that this has to end. “We need to build a new we” Dr Ramadam said.
Read more at: http://www.rfp-europe.eu/index.cfm?id=270290
A World of Difference
‘A Celebration of Difference’ was how one of the organisers described the Fifth Parliament of the World Religions held in the brand new Convention Hall in Melbourne, Australia from 3rd to 9th December 2009. A Sufi Whirling Payer Ceremony, Deep Chanting by Tibetan monks, Plainsong and Gospel Music, Traditional Song and Dance by Australia’s First People and much more were, for example, all part of a Concert of Sacred Music.
Celebrating the rich diversity of religious beliefs and practices is more important than it may sound. Still today, as in past centuries, ethnic and religious differences are a cause of mistrust, hostility and even massacre. Several programmes were devoted to ‘Respecting the Other.’ Not all difference, however, is to be respected. As Katherine Marshall of World Faiths Development Dialogue, insisted, religions need to challenge the economic injustices, which allow the few to live in plenty and millions to subsist in abject poverty.
There was little opportunity to bring the themes together. Moreover, with the emphasis on respecting difference, the hope of the pioneers
of the interfaith movement that religions can provide a spiritual basis for humanity to live together in a global society was scarcely mentioned, although HH the Dalai Lama insisted that the root cause of the world’s problems was the failure to recognise that this is a moral universe.
With more than six hundred programmes – lectures, seminars, religious observances, concerts, films and much more – there was certainly plenty of variety. No one could do more than sample the rich banquet. Like the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament, where there are perhaps twelve matches on court at the same time, one can only watch one of them. As a result each participant had a different ‘Parliament experience.’
The overall theme of ‘Make a World of Difference: Hearing Each Other;
Healing the Earth’ was broken down into several major subthemes:
Healing the Earth with Care and Concern,
Indigenous People,
Overcoming Poverty in an Unequal World,
Securing Food and Water for All People,
Building Peace in Pursuit of Justice,
Creating Social Cohesion in Village and City,
Sharing Wisdom in the Search for Inner Peace.
In addition a number of sub-themes emerged from the programme
suggestions submitted:
Local to Global Interreligious Movements,
Partner Cities Network,
Islam in a Global Context,
Women in Leadership,
Youth,
Family,
Media and Religion,
Interreligious Education,
The Parliament programme, through the extensive use of e-mails, was carefully arranged. All major religious traditions were well
represented and compared to earlier Parliaments ‘fringe’ groups were
not conspicuous.
Visitors from around the world were given a warm welcome by the people of Melbourne, which is a vibrant multi-cultural and multi-religious
society. The state of Victoria is home to people from more than 200
countries of origin, speaking more than 230 languages and dialects,
following more than 110 faith traditions. Many people from Melbourne
acted as volunteers and offered hospitality in their homes. The
Parliament received support from the government of Australia and the
Sate of Victoria as well as from the City of Melbourne. It was perhaps
a pity that there was no big public event in the city to which anyone
could come. Even for day-participants registration was expensive.
The Melbourne Parliament was the fifth Parliament of World Religions. The first was held in Chicago in 1893 and is often seen as the beginning of the modern interfaith movement. The International Association of Religious Freedom and the World Congress of Faiths, despite widespread opposition, continued this initiative, but their work was often eclipsed by the dominance of Communism, Fascism and Secularism, let alone two World Wars. Moreover the prevalent theological fashion in the Churches was to dismiss the world religions as expressions of human arrogance.
The situation began to change in the nineteen sixties following the historic document Nostra Aetate – agreed by the Second Vatican Council – which recognising glimmers of divine truth in other religions, stressed the importance of dialogue with people of other faiths. A similar approach was soon adopted by the World Council of Churches, despite angry opposition from some member churches. Moreover, the growing recognition by the churches that centuries of anti-Jewish teaching had contributed to the great suffering of the Jewish people – not least in the Holocaust – had led to a new humility.
Christians began to take the initiative in promoting dialogue and found a ready response from some members of other religions. It was, however, the centenary of the 1893 World Parliament of Religions – marked by gatherings across the world and especially in Chicago – that first caught the attention of a wider public. At the 1993 Parliament, attention was focussed on defining a Global Ethic, which highlighted the agreement of religions on a code of morality. Well over 20,000 people attended the open-air finale at which the key speaker was the Dalai Lama. The 1999 Parliament, at which Nelson Mandela was a speaker, gained its significance from its venue – Cape Town – in the newly multi racial and multi religious South Africa. The Parliament began with a public rally to express solidarity with the victims of Aids.
It was not, however, until the first years of this century, that politicians, in the aftermath of 9/11, began to recognise the vital importance of interfaith co-operation. At the 2004 Parliament, which met in Barcelona – where Europe looks across the Mediterranean to North Africa – speakers of all traditions insisted the religion should never be used to sanction acts of terrorism. Melbourne, at a time when concern for the Environment is high on the world’s agenda was an appropriate choice for 2009 meeting, especially as the Aboriginals, Australia’s first people, have much to teach us on this subject.
The many programmes at the Melbourne Parliament ranged over issues of vital concern to all people – the search for peace, the relief of poverty, an end to the abuse and discrimination from which so many people suffer and above all concern for the future of planet Earth. What is need now is for people of faith to engage in serious dialogue with politicians, scientists, business leaders and many others. Religions will not solve the problems but equally they cannot be solved if the religions are ignored.
The Parliament of Religions is a Parliament in the original sense of a place where people meet to talk together. It is not a law-making or executive body. No grand resolutions were passed. The Parliament will make ‘a world of difference’ by the difference it has made to those who shared the experience. They will return home with new enthusiasm and energy for their work for interfaith fellowship, peace, social service, help for the poor and action to reduce climate change. There is an old prayer, ‘Change the world and begin with me.’ It is people who are different who make a world of difference.
Members of the World Congress of Faiths played an active role at the Parliament, although some who had hoped to be there, sadly had to cancel because of illness. Members of the World Congress of Faiths arranged a beautiful interfaith morning observance on ‘Respect for the Earth,’ Mary Braybrooke, a Vice-President of WCF and a social worker, led a session on ‘Older People: Revered or Redundant,’ which was a very personal and inter-active sharing. She also was a member of the panel at a session on the religious situation in Europe. Sister Maureen Goodman and Marcus Braybrooke arranged a half day retreat on ‘The Inner Voice of Peace: Interfaith, a Life Changing Experience,’ at which Dadi Janki, a Patron of WCF, gave a short talk on the Importance of Silence. Vinod Kapashi took part in a programme on ‘The Jain perspective on Nonviolence and Self-Control: a Model for Education.’ Marcus Braybrooke also took part in a panel on ‘Respect for the Other,’ moderated one session and preached at a local church. There were also opportunities for several members of WCF from different parts of the world to renew their friendships.
Together with the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University and the
International Interfaith Centre, WCF had a stand in the exhibition area.
Rev Dr Marcus Braybrooke,
President of the World Congress of Faiths.
19.12.09
