By Holy See Mission
CIVILIZATIONS
AND THE CHALLENGE FOR PEACE:
OBSTACLES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Informal Thematic Debate of the U.N. General Assembly
Panel on: Religion in Contemporary Society
New York, 10 May 2007
Prospects for Cross-Cultural and Inter-Religious Relations
in Contemporary Society
H.E. Mrs. Mary Ann Glendon
President, Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences (Vatican City)
Professor of Law, Harvard UniversityThis afternoon's panelists have been asked to discuss the challenge of promoting
a culture of mutual respect and tolerance in contemporary societies. In theory,
the accelerated movement of people and ideas in today's world might be expected
to foster cooperation rather than conflict, mutual understanding rather than
mutual suspicion. And to some extent it has, especially as people get to know
each other on a personal level. The problem is how to seize the available
opportunities and to reduce the incidence of misunderstandings, tensions and
violence.
For those who would like to take a hopeful view, I suggest that we need not look
far to find an encouraging example of a cross-cultural dialogue that overcame
enormous obstacles to yield one of the UN's most enduring contributions to
peace. I am referring to the debates that led up to the 1948 Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. Today, many have forgotten that that historic
document was the product of an impressively multicultural collaboration. Nor do
many remember how deep were the divisions that had to be overcome by a drafting
group that included a Confucian scholar from China, Muslims from Egypt and Iran,
a French Zionist, an Indian woman of Hindu origin, members of various Christian
denominations, and four devout Marxists.
Hardly anyone thought that group would be able to agree on a few basic
principles of human decency. But the Declaration--with its affirmation that we
all belong to one human family--remains a beacon of inspiration for everyone who
holds hopes for cross-cultural collaboration. At the same time, it is a sober
reminder that, while high-level dialogue has an important role to play, its role
is a limited one--an element in a never-ending process that must be nourished
within the capillaries of society.
Therein, of course, lies a challenge for religious and cultural leaders: that of
motivating their followers to meet others on the plane of reason and mutual
respect, while remaining true to themselves and their own beliefs.
Why has it been so difficult to meet that challenge? For one thing, religion has
often been exploited for political purposes. But many obstacles cannot be blamed
on outside forces. They include not only misunderstandings about the faith of
others, but also a poor grounding in one's own faith. Thus, another crucial task
for leaders and educators is to find resources within their own traditions for
promoting respect and tolerance, and to draw upon those resources as they
transmit their traditions to their followers.
Such efforts at the local level may well prove decisive, for religious
communities have great potential to help heal wounds, to build bridges, and to
band together against extremists who would manipulate religion to promote hatred
and violence. What Eleanor Roosevelt once wrote about bringing human rights to
life applies equally to creating a culture of mutual respect among peoples:
"Where," she asked, "do human rights begin? In small places, close to home--so
close and small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world…. Unless these
rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere."
That wise observation, I venture to suggest, provides grounds to be cautiously
hopeful about our present situation. For, increasingly, religious and cultural
pluralism is a fact of life. More and more people are getting to know members of
other cultures and religions. Many, especially young people, are building
lasting friendships--in schools, neighborhoods, and workplaces. In "small
places" like these, people are beginning to move beyond mere tolerance. They are
beginning to learn from one another, and to have their horizons enlarged by one
another. As Pope John Paul II put it in his 1995 address to the United Nations,
"The 'difference' which some find so threatening can, through respectful
dialogue, become the source of a deeper understanding of the mystery of human
existence."
To be sure, the path beyond tolerance will be strewn with obstacles. But there
really is no alternative if human beings are to improve the chances for peace on
our increasingly interdependent, yet conflict-ridden planet. To give up on the
possibility of meaningful "dialogue with all those seriously concerned for
humanity and for the world in which we live" (Pope Benedict XVI, DCE, 27) would
be to give up on the dreams of the men and women who created the great
organization where we meet today.
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