THERI
VADEL
GARDE
DECLARATI
ON
OFTHE

SI
XTH
WORLD
ASSEMBLY

1994

Nearly 1,000 participants representing many of theworld’s religions have gathered in Rome and Riva delGarde, Italy, for the Sixth Assembly of the World Conference of Religions for Peace, with the theme “Healing
the World: Religions for Peace.” A women’s meeting anda youth meeting have formed an integral part of ourconference. We who have gathered are of different religions and different countries, we celebrate different traditions and are shaped by different cultures, yet we haveall come with a common commitment to seek peace, topursue justice, and to protect our environment and our
future as embodied in our children. We are also committed to the development of a vision of common healing.
In this time of transition, as the world passes fromthe Cold War to a new order yet uncertain, we race tokeep up with events and technology. As ideologies collapse and relationships become more ambiguous, signsof brokenness abound. The encounter of richly diverse
peoples, languages, religions, cultures and economic systems is providing impetus for a new world community.
Yet poverty, injustice, lack of access to resources, oppression, discrimination and violence continue to burden the lives of billions of people. Amidst this, healing
is evident where, after long struggle, injustice is beingtransformed to justice, oppression to freedom, discrimination to equity and violence to peace.
Many peoples enjoy greater economic, social and political freedoms. But gross inequities still exist and evenmultiply. Development and technological advances holdout many promises, but too often further separate therich from the poor and degrade the environment. Neverbefore has there been such an urgent need for an ethics
to govern scientific advances, to harness their potential
for the greatest good.

Steps have been taken toward nuclear disarmamentand more systematic regulation of the arms trade, butarms proliferation remains unacceptably high. The extent of the militarization of our societies gives evidenceof skewed values and priorities. The race of researchand development continues to produce ever more deadly weapons.
Steps toward healing in such places as the Middle
East, Central America and Northern Ireland bring hopeof peace. We celebrate the binding of wounds in South
Africa. We are joyful that Namibia is newly independent,
that the peoples of Cambodia and Haiti have begun torebuild their countries. We remember those who havesacrificed their lives to bring justice in these situations
and others who continue to struggle.
A vision of a world community with rights and responsibilities is taking shape. The human rights of themost vulnerable and marginalized members of our society-women, children and minorities-are increasingly
recognized. Yet discrimination persists in our world,
indeed even in our religious communities. The sacredness of the earth and our unity with it are deeply felt inmany places, and remind us of our responsibility to act
as stewards of this fragile ecosystem which nurtures andsustains us. Yet the natural environment is being devastated at unprecedented rates.
Great dangers and deep pain remain in the uncertaintyof this age. Our global society suffers a spiritual crisis so
deep that positive changes are prevented. As the search
for identity accentuates the long-repressed differencesamong peoples, disintegration and exaggerated individualism threaten the international order. Many states areexperiencing decreasing social cohesion, leading to increased violence and weakened abilities to achieve moral
consensus across group lines. Conflict is fueled by nationalistic, ethnic and religious violence.

“In this time of transition, as the world passes from the Cold War to a new order yet uncertain, we race to keep up with
events and technology. As ideologies collapse and elationships become more ambiguous, signs of brokenness abound. The
encounter of richly diverse peoples, languages, religions, cultures and economic systems is providing impetus for a new worldcommunity. Yet poverty, injustice, lack of access to resources, oppression, discrimination and violence continue to burden the
lives of billions of people. Amidst this, healing is evident where, after long struggle, injustice is being transformed to justice,oppression to freedom, discrimination to equity and violence to peace.”
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Our time has seen the breakup of the Soviet Union
and Yugoslavia, the collapse of social order in such places
as Rwanda, Somalia, and Haiti. The world has witnessed
the terrible destruction of the Gulf War, the persecutionof the Kurdish community, and the atrocities of ethnic
cleansing in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzgovina. This war
must be ended, and refugees and displaced persons mustbe allowed and aided to rebuild their lives.
Despite some advances, the people of the world suffer
terribly. Civilian casualties in war have increased dramatically. There are 18.5 million refugees and 20 million displaced people in the world today. Women, children andthe elderly are especially vulnerable in these times. Famine and disease have accompanied violence in such places as Sudan, Somalia and Afghanistan. HIV and AIDS
reach epidemic proportions throughout the world.
As religious peoples, we are particularly saddened that
religion is misused at times to legitimize violence andwars and stir hatreds. We strongly condemn destructive
religious nationalism and religious extremism as crimes
against religion. In response, we call not for uncompromising secularism but for authentic religion, which we
believe must be a powerful force for human rights, freedom and non-violent political transformation; the impulse of religion must be toward peace, not war. We also
call for increased dialogue between religious and nonreligious approaches for healing the world.
On the threshold of the fiftieth anniversary of theUnited Nations, we honor its accomplishments and notethe challenges it faces. Since 1990, it has drawn and willdraw together world leaders to discuss children, the environment, human rights, population and development,social development and women. The U.N. has and willdraw attention, through yearlong emphases on indigenous people, the family and tolerance.
The work of healing and building peace and security in a fractured world presents new challenges to the
U.N. and other international bodies, which are stretchedbeyond their capacities. We support the work of theseorganizations and affirm the renewed commitment ofReligions for Peace to the U.N. as it advances a morecomprehensive understanding of global security throughsustainable human development.

Human security, which acknowledges the universalismof life, is embedded in the notion of solidarity amongpeople. It acknowledges our interdependence and ourbroad-ranging needs for security: economic security, foodsecurity, health security, environmental security, personal
security and political security. Meeting the challenge ofhuman security is essential to establishing peace.

A Call For Common HealingWe, from each of our religious traditions, envision a
harmonious and peaceful universe as the goal of life andspiritual effort of humans. We begin our quest for community and harmony with the experience of a world thatis broken and hurt. Each religion analyzes, in its own
way, the causes of suffering and disharmony, and proposes concrete means to overcome them and build community. Religious communities have a particular concern
for the victims of human systems, the poor and the oppressed, reaching out to them and advocating justice andfellowship.
As religions agree upon the experience of disharmony, they also agree that the causes are human and ethicalin nature, and that people can overcome them throughindividual and social action, in the horizon of an Ultimate. Such action must focus on the various levels inwhich healing is needed to move from disharmony tocommunity and peace.

Collaboration in Healing
While, in the past, each religious group may havelooked at this need for healing and harmony in the context of its own community, today people of all religions
live together. In such a pluralist context, religions tooare sometimes causes for division. This is one more element that needs healing. However, there is a growing
conviction that people of all religions must collaborate
together in the healing of divisions and in the buildingof community locally and globally.

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The Process of Healing
The movement toward community from divisionand brokenness involves a process of healing. Religious
groups find inspiration and motivation for this ethicaland social project in their own traditions. They must
avoid the danger of becoming instruments of economic,
social or political agendas, thus losing their spiritual-prophetic dynamism. In conversation with other religious
groups, they seek to evolve common perspectives andconcerns at the ethical and social levels. Such a convergence is emerging in the contemporary discourse concerning human, social and economic rights and duties,
though the process is not always without pain, tension
and struggle. A next crucial step is to translate this ethic
convergence into plans of common action, inspired andsupported by religion, in the social, political and economic fields.

The Power of Healing
The power of healing in its various dimensionspersonal, social, global-must come from religious andother ethical and spiritual resources, in which people
transcend their immediate concerns and needs and lookfrom themselves to others, seeing life and the world in
the context of an Ultimate. While promoting and profiting from positive resources of their own religion, religious groups should not only guard against abusing it
for narrow political ends, but also highlight and develop
its universal perspectives that make it tolerant and actively receptive to the religious experience and perspectivesof other groups. Religions themselves need to be healedof any narrow fanaticism and exclusivism, precisely inthe broader context of the Whole that transcends thelimited experience of the group. Such healing releases
the prophetic and spiritual dynamism of each religion
for the transformation of society.

Personal Healing
The inner personal healing of every person in a social
context is facilitated by his or her own religion. Throughits experience and ongoing rituals, particularly thosethat respond to crises in the lives of individuals and of
the group, religion provides ultimate significance to thewhole of life.

Healing Society
Religious peoples can engage in conversation andcommon action for the promotion of shared ethical values for the building of community. Such common action focuses on healing the various ills of society, withreference to the relationships of people to the cosmos
and to each other.

Healing Communication among Religions
Such common action may lead to and be enriched bydialogue and sharing at the religious level. Dialogue canhelp us learn from history, remove prejudices and promote mutual understanding. In the context of healing,
this might involve a confession of sin and shortcoming, on the one hand, and an act of forgiveness, on theother, leading to reconciliation. Sharing of sacred texts,
respectful observance of other religious traditions andparticipation in common meditation can facilitate mutual enrichment and inspiration and even challenge. In thisprocess, religions, without detriment to their identity andtruth claims at the properly religious level, may discoverthemselves as being convergent and complementary at
the socio-ethical level.

A Specific Option
One way of showing the authenticity of one’s commitment to promote shared ethical values in society is tochampion peace with justice for all, including the poor,
the marginalized, the defenseless, women, children andthe oppressed. In this manner, attention and effort are
devoted to special areas where the healing touch of religions is particularly required. Religions speak of thisspecial attention to the victims of society in terms ofcompassion, justice, equity and love. Today such an option may include conflict, although we believe resolutionof conflict must be non-violent and oriented to peaceand harmony.

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Isolation and Fragmentation: Searching for a
Common Ethic

Violence and War: Building Peace and Security

Dynamic forces in our fast-changing contemporarysocieties have created a new willingness to seek guidance
and inspiration from religions on issues facing humanity.
Humankind is one great family. We have basic spiritual values arising from our common human experienceand our shared planetary home. However, as individuals
and as groups we have lost touch with the harmonizing
spiritual values by which our religious traditions have encouraged us to live. We have become isolated fragments,
often indifferent to what happens to our neighbors andto other groups.

Violence and war are further evidences of deep-seated social, political, economic and religious ills. Currently
more than 40 wars, most of which are civil, are wreaking their destructive powers on virtually every continent.
The causes of such conflict are many, found in selfishness and in psychological drives for power and control;
economic and political exploitation and domination often manifest in patterns of neo-colonialism and market
manipulation; ethnic and nationalistic chauvinism playing on the hatreds and prejudices of the past and manifesting themselves in civil war; ethnic cleansing leading
to genocide; and religious fanaticisms stimulated by social and psychic insecurities.

We therefore encourage all members of our humanfamily-whether materially rich or poor, young or old,with or without academic education, to join in the process of uncovering and sharing the treasures of theircommunities. Our hope is that each community may be
re-inspired by its own values, that we may be enriched by
the sharing of others’ traditional values, and that we may
seek convergences in our basic ethical principles.

Such conflicts are complicated by two factors. First,
the level of violence has been heightened by the increased destructiveness of the arms that are readily
available on world markets, with ever more diabolicalweapons emerging from the arms research and development laboratories. Second, the instruments of international peacemaking and peacekeeping are insufficiently
developed to facilitate the resolution of conflict.

While our ethical criteria are inextricably rooted in
our varying spiritual traditions and diverse cultural contexts, we are nonetheless interdependent, not only withother humans but also with other forms of life. This
interdependence is expressed in common values such as
helpfulness toward others, reverence for life and compassion.

Yet we know that war and violence are preventable.
Their prevention requires effort in the spiritual as wellas practical realm, both economic and political. In thespiritual realm we need to practice the concepts and processes of reconciliation, which require a willingness torepent, to ask and grant mercy and forgiveness, to acknowledge that the purpose of historical remembrance
is not to lay the seeds of future conflict, but to insure theevil of the past is never repeated.

Such common values commit us to put them to workin ourselves, propose them before local, national and international institutions, and introduce them to our young
generations.

In the political realm the task is to end the arms race,
the manufacture and trade in deadly weapons of destruction, and to build the regional, international and inter-religious instruments of conflict prevention, peacemaking,peacekeeping and peacebuilding. In the economic realm
the requirement is to redress the economic and social ills
that lead to conflict.
In all relations-political, economic, spiritual, social-thebuilding of trust and confidence is essential. Only with

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such commitments can the world achieve the goal set
out 50 years ago in the creation of the United Nations:to end the scourge of war.

Injustice and Poverty: Struggling for Equitable and Sustainable Development
The crying need for a healing touch is evident in thesocio-economic condition of the human family, a condition that is characterized by widening inequality between
and within nations, reflected in the great disparities oflifestyles and the absolute poverty of a billion people
worldwide. Crushing debt and the imposed economic
structural adjustment programs burden developing
countries, which have inadequate means to eliminate
them. The ongoing militarization of many societies
with repressive systems reflects the continuing impactof the arms race. Systemic inequities in the distributionof opportunities and resources persist between men andwomen in all countries. The planet’s natural resources areplundered, and ecological devastation is left in the wakeof environmental pollution. The exponential growthof the world’s population has undermined the capacities of weak political systems to satisfy even the barestof human needs. The absence of sufficient meaningfulemployment and the continued marginalization of many
peoples mark societies worldwide.
These accumulated ills have generated familial andsocietal discord and degeneration, fostered political mistrust between religious communities, engendered endemic conflict and violence between ethnic groups, andcontributed to tension between nation-states.
These inequalities are a systemic characteristic of ourglobal community. They mark the condition of an anarchical world society, devoid of effective collective procedures and dominated by an international system thatis competitive rather than cooperative. There is a lackof commitment to the common good, embodied in asystem that too often uses its resources and power toperpetuate rather than heal inequality. These inequalities
also reflect the inadequacy of national sovereignty, whichmust yield to interdependence. Such an interdependence
will not only be technical, environmental and economic,

but also ethical. One way in which this can be shown isthrough fair and just trade.
The collapse of the Soviet Union and Eastern European Marxism has dashed the hopes which millions
of idealistic people held that Marxist economic theories would build a just society where unemployment
and poverty would be eliminated. At the same time, theindividualistic ethic of capitalism has similarly failed toprovide justice and the elimination of poverty, even in
the wealthiest and most developed nations. The world’s
religious communities must seek a third way, which respects the communal and interdependent dimensions ofhumanity; a way based on mutual love and respect for individual rights, but which incorporates an acceptance ofcommunal responsibility for our brothers and sisters.
Aware that the ultimate values of religion are impossible without the eradication of poverty and injustice,
we, religious peoples, must work to fulfill the ethical obligation to foster human community which engenders
the fullness of spiritual life.

Oppression and Discrimination: Affirming
Rights and Responsibilities
Oppression and discrimination are symptoms of theworld’s brokenness and its need for healing. Victims ofhuman rights abuses remind us that oppression and discrimination take many forms. Murder; massacre; torture;communal and domestic violence, especially against
women and children; genocidal war; attack and intimidation; imprisonment; displacement; apartheid; the destruction and vandalism of houses of worship and theprivate property of religious minorities; oppression of
marginalized groups; and the denial of religious freedom, of citizenship rights, of access to jobs and education, and of entry into other countries are powerfulexamples.
These actions are intolerable denials of that dignity
inherent in the very being of the human. We affirm thatevery human being has both rights and responsibilities.

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The right to religious freedom is basic to and inseparable from other human rights. In relations of religion
and the state, when an interfaith ethos of pluralism is
upheld by the state, the well-being of minorities, as wellas that of the whole nation, are fostered.
Religions and religious leaders frequently fail to defend human rights. For religious people, there can be nosuch thing as neutrality in the face of injustice. Defense
against injustice must be carried out in non-violent andnon-repressive ways. People of religious commitment
must search for and find constructive ways to build a
new world of peace and justice.

Wasted Life: Caring For The ChildOur traditions inform us that societies will be judged
ultimately by the condition of their most innocent, mostdependent and most vulnerable members-their children.
We are to be held accountable for the impact of violence,
including that which occurs in our own homes and in war
upon children-maimed bodies, destroyed homes, broken
families, spiritual traumas. We are to be held accountable
for the ravages of poverty on children-the malnutrition,
the toll of preventable diseases, the stunted growth, thelack of education and opportunity, and extinction ofhope. We are to be held accountable for the victimization of children-through child labor, sexual exploitation,
forced military service. We are to be held accountable forthe destruction of their inheritance as the environment
is permanently damaged and non-renewable resources
are consumed.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of theChild provides us with a framework to guide our efforts
on behalf of children, including a “First Call,” which
embodies the concept of a priority to save, protect andcare for children.
Children’s rights belong in the mainstream of humanrights. Yet they are broader than individual rights. Children have a right, and we have an obligation, to ensurethat the environment in which children live is one that
supports and nurtures their development.

Educating children about the beliefs and values of
their own religious tradition and those of others is ofparamount importance in seeking a peaceful world.
Families are the first educators of children, and mustbe supported, sustained and strengthened by religious
communities.
“The sacredness of life, honored in our religious traditions, founds our belief in the ultimate meaning andvalue of the child. The sacredness of life compels us tobe a voice of conscience...The grim realities we confront
demand our outrage because they exist; they demand
our repentance because they have been silently tolerated
or even justified; they demand our response because all
can be addressed.” [from the Declaration of the World’s
Religions for the World’s Children, World Conferenceof Religions for Peace, 1990]
Our goal is the harmony of humankind. In order torealize this objective, we must work collaboratively using every available resource. The children of today andtomorrow will be the torch bearers of a harmonious
world.

Endangered Earth: Restoring Ecological Harmony
Nature groans and all life on earth calls for help tosurvive. The environment urgently needs healing. The
earth’s ecological components and its people are interdependent. Each species of life is dependent upon otherspecies. The survival of all is predicated on the maintenance of a subtle balance and harmony. We are called
not only to recognize the oneness of all life on earth, butalso to protect it. If one element of life is endangered,
all will suffer.
Many religious people only belatedly came to realize this ecological interdependency of earth, in spite ofrelevant teachings in their religious traditions. Often we
have been too engrossed in the achievements of modern
science and technology, economic development and material consumption, and have forgotten the oneness oflife and nature. We have dominated nature as if we wereentitled to do so. This arrogance is a root cause of thepresent ecological crisis. In our work to restore harmo-

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ny and common living, we must begin with repentancefor our destructive actions and must effect a paradigm
shift from an anthropocentric to a life-and eco-centeredmodel.
Religious communities, working jointly, have much tocontribute to the development of a common environmental ethic calling for new ways of thinking and newlifestyles. This ethic will require attitudinal and structural changes so that equitable and sustainable development may be achieved without causing damage to theenvironment. Further, it will call for just and benevolent
relationships between humans and nature, between the
more developed and developing worlds, and between
present and future generations. Religious communities
should make it a priority to educate their members, especially their children and youth, in the common environmental ethic.

Healing the World: Religions for Peace
As this Assembly draws to its close, we call upon all
members of Religions for Peace to be fully committed
to the proposals and creative action plans presented byeach Commission. Therefore, we take upon ourselves
the solemn responsibility of translating the spiritual vision shared by all of us in healing the ills of the worldin collaboration with all people of good will. We are
critically aware of the serious situations facing humanity. We will vigorously seek to nurture, tap and harness
the human spirit to ease suffering and to create families,
communities, nations and a world based on reverence
for every individual human being. Toward this end, mayeach of us humbly seek courage, patience, wisdom andcompassion.

The voices of women in the development and institution of this ethic must be central, for many of theworld’s women work and live close to the earth, often
tending its fields and gathering its fuel and water for thesurvival of their families. Moreover, an attitude of caring, nurturing and healing should be encouraged in society in its relation to the environment.
Religious communities are called to stand with thepoorest and weakest members of society. Now we must
extend this concept of solidarity to the environment. If
the air is contaminated, if a species is on the verge ofextinction, if the soil is eroded, if the forest is lost, if
the water is polluted, all people will suffer with them.
We, especially, as religious people, must be their voiceand their protection in the world, so that all people areurged to work for the healing of ecological infirmities.
The elements of nature have a right to claim healing; wehave a responsibility to help realize that healing.
Restoring ecological harmony means peacemaking
with nature. Accordingly, our concern about environment is an integral part of our striving for peace.

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