Religious leaders told to choose peace ahead of G8

|PIC1|"Religions have been used und continue to be used for justifying hate and violence. But religions are capable to promote peace and justice. And this is the way which they have to choose," the head of the Evangelical Church (EKD) in Germany told religious leaders at a peace summit on Wednesday.

Some 300 delegates representing more than 20 countries came together in Sapporo, Japan, on Wednesday for a World Religious Summit for Peace ahead of next week's Group of Eight Summit.

Participants included 60 religious leaders from Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam and Zoroastrianism, according to Kyodo News.

In an address for the opening plenary on "The G8 Summit: Our Spiritual and Moral Responsibilities", Bishop Wolfgang Huber said that religious leaders were called to set a positive example of peaceful dialogue.

"The ways in which religions try to develop their mutual dialogue are of utmost importance for the ways in which societies can handle tensions and differences in a peaceful manner. As representatives of different religions we are challenged to give a positive example in this respect," he told leaders.

"I am convinced that we as religious leaders share the vision that this world can be transformed by the power of hope, love, reconciliation and peace into a world of more dignity and security for all."

Bishop Huber went on to urge leaders at the G8 Summit to take decisions from an African perspective.

"All decisions taken by the G8 gatherings and other international meetings must be challenged and tested from this African point of view, the perspective of the poorest continent of our globe," he said.

"When religious leaders from all over the world speak out on the most pressing issues of our time they should do this in giving a voice to Africa."

He re-affirmed the Christian commitment to social justice and caring for the most vulnerable rooted in the command of Jesus to love God and neighbour.

"To live out [our] faith includes to take responsibility for the living together in society," he said. "Trusting in God and loving your neighbour are two sides of the same coin.

"Therefore we see it as our task to stand up for justice, to combat discrimination and marginalisation, to promote peace and sustainable development.

"All these are shared principles of Christian churches around the world."

G8 leaders are due to discuss a number of problems, including global warming and soaring fuel and food prices.

Bishop Huber said that the climate crisis revealed the extent to which humans were behind much of the "destruction of natural conditions for life".

"Undoubtedly the rich and industrialised countries have contributed and continue to contribute in an irresponsible way to the climate change with its enormous destructive impact on all people, in particular on the poor," he said.

Bishop Huber said that highly industrialised nations were "obliged" to adopt methods of sustainable energy production and consumption and move beyond simple adaptation to global warming, to limiting the process.

Other plenary sessions over the course of the two-day summit include "Advancing Shared Security: The Commitments of the World's Religions", and "The Way Forward: Mobilising the World's Religious Communities in Common Action for Peace".

Summit delegates will later present their proposals to Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, the chair of the G8 Summit.

The Group of Eight is composed of the world's most powerful countries whose government leadership meet annually to discuss global issues. The G-8 is composed of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.