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Decalogue of Assisi for Peace
On January 24, 2002, religious leaders from around the world
gathered in Assisi, Italy. They included Pope John Paul II and a number of Catholic
cardinals; Bartholomew I, spiritual leader of all Orthodox Christians; a dozen
Jewish rabbis, including some from Israel; 30 Muslim imams from Iran, Iraq,
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Pakistan; dozens of ministers representing Baptists,
Lutherans, Anglicans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Pentecostals, Disciples of
Christ, Mennonites, Quakers, Moravians, The Salvation Army and the World Council
of Churches; and dozens of monks, gurus and others representing Hindus, Buddhists,
Sikhs and Zoroastrians and native African religions. Their meeting culminated
in a commitment to peace adopted by all present. It is called the "Decalogue
of Assisi for Peace."
- We commit ourselves to proclaiming our firm conviction that violence and
terrorism are incompatible with the authentic spirit of religion, and, as
we condemn every recourse to violence and war in the name of God or of religion,
we commit ourselves to doing everything possible to eliminate the root causes
of terrorism.
- We commit ourselves to educating people to mutual respect and esteem, in
order to help bring about a peaceful and fraternal coexistence between people
of different ethnic groups, cultures and religions.
- We commit ourselves to fostering the culture of dialogue, so that there
will be an increase of understanding and mutual trust between individuals
and among peoples, for these are the premise of authentic peace.
- We commit ourselves to defending the right of everyone to live a decent
life in accordance with their own cultural identity, and to form freely a
family of his own.
- We commit ourselves to frank and patient dialogue, refusing to consider
our differences as an insurmountable barrier, but recognizing instead that
to encounter the diversity of others can become an opportunity for greater
reciprocal understanding.
- We commit ourselves to forgiving one another for past and present errors
and prejudices, and to supporting one another in a common effort both to overcome
selfishness and arrogance, hatred and violence, and to learn from the past
that peace without justice is no true peace.
- We commit ourselves to taking the side of the poor and the helpless, to
speaking out for those who have no voice and to working effectively to change
these situations, out of the conviction that no one can be happy alone.
- We commit ourselves to taking up the cry of those who refuse to be resigned
to violence and evil, and we are desire to make every effort possible to offer
the men and women of our time real hope for justice and peace.
- We commit ourselves to encouraging all efforts to promote friendship between
peoples, for we are convinced that, in the absence of solidarity and understanding
between peoples, technological progress exposes the world to a growing risk
of destruction and death.
- We commit ourselves to urging leaders of nations to make every effort to
create and consolidate, on the national and international levels, a world
of solidarity and peace based on justice
Related link:
Peace resources
