Religions for Peace – USA believes that one of the key roles that it can play in meeting the challenges raised by modern society is by developing interreligious councils in U.S. communities where they are currently lacking. Interreligious councils serve as a conduit and catalyst for bringing the unique resources of their respective religious communities together to enable peacemaking. Unfortunately, too many U.S. communities do not have a vital, active interfaith structure today – and, amazingly, some don’t have any! – with which to help foster relationships between peoples of faiths and to help address community concerns with common action.

Perhaps the greatest achievement of the international arm of Religions for Peace has been the basic development of interreligious councils in dozens of countries around the globe, including in some of the most difficult places of conflict on Earth. Seeing the short-term benefits and knowing the long-term capacity building value that these interreligious councils have in the world, Religions for Peace-USA will model a similar process for U.S. communities, offering technical assistance, training, and follow-up to communities desiring to develop and/or strengthen interfaith structure in their communities. To begin with, in 2004, Religions for Peace will work to develop new interreligious councils in at least three communities. It is hoped that efforts will be expanded in 2005 and beyond.

In the first week of April, a delegation of senior African religious leaders and representatives of the World Conference of Religions for Peace met with Rwandan religious leaders, government officials and civil society organizations to mark the tenth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide and to support the work of the Inter-Faith Commission in Rwanda.

Dr. William F. Vendley, Secretary General of Religions for Peace, noted, “It is a well known fact that the genocide was not of religious origins. It is also well known that religious leaders and institutions were co-opted to play a horrific role. The Inter-Faith Commission of Rwanda, like Religions for Peace's affiliates in more than 50 countries, has made a commitment and is taking action to mobilize the power and influence inherent in religions, not to harm, but to heal and bring reconciliation to all Rwandans.”

“We of the African Council of Religious Leaders/Religions for Peace are witnesses to the power of inter-religious cooperation for reconciliation in societies recovering from traumatic violence. This has been the experience of the Inter-Religious councils in West Africa and here in the Great Lakes,” said Archbishop John O. Onaiyekan of Nigeria.

Grand Mufti Shaban Mubajje of Uganda, also a member of the African Council of Religious Leaders/Religions for Peace added, “We salute the Inter-Faith Commission in Rwanda, and its vital, ongoing work to rebuild Rwandan society and achieve reconciliation and peace with justice.”

In Trent, Italy, in 1943, Chiara Lubich (pictured left with W.D. Mohammed and Imam Izak-el Pasha) with a group of friends, all rediscovered the Christian Scriptures, the Gospels. At first in response to the war that was raging around them they began to put its words into practice in their daily lives, focusing on the poorest areas in their city. Their lives took an unexpected turn. The people they were helping began to call them "Focolare", those who bring the warmth and light of a family hearth. These people little by little joined them too and that initial group grew into thousands. This new movement gradually spread throughout the world. Its goal would become to work toward the fulfillment of Jesus’ prayer of unity in the Gospel of John (Ch. 17) before he faced his passion, death, and resurrection. The Focolare Movement dedicates itself to promote unity and universal brotherhood.

From its humble beginnings in the Italian city of Trent, the Focolare has become a worldwide movement, and now numbers more than 87,000 members and two million friends and adherents reaching approximately four and one-half million people in more than 182 nations. It is ecumenical and interreligious, both on scholarly and grassroots levels. It closely collaborates with members of the world’s religions and persons of no religious affiliation. All can participate in the life of the Focolare Movement. Through these dialogues, it works with many others toward the fullness of truth and the unity of the human family.

Over the years, several specialized areas have emerged, including, in the cultural sphere, the Abba School, for the elaboration of a renewed culture, and in the sphere of the economy, the Economy of Communion Project, involving more than seven hundred businesses. There are also several “little towns” of witness, social welfare programs and activities, publishing houses, and magazines.

“THE WAY HOME: STORIES OF FORGIVENESS"
Television special showcases a woman reaching out to forgive her husband’s killer, a small town that learns to embrace diversity, and a father who reunites with his estranged son.

Three poignant stories illustrating how individuals find the power to give or accept forgiveness, overcome hate, and embrace cultural and religious differences are told in “The Way Home: Stories of Forgiveness,” a special that airs nationally on Sunday, May 23, (10 p.m. ET/PT) on Hallmark Channel. The one-hour program, narrated by Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress Glenn Close, recounts how Americans faced with difficult circumstances learn to come together and tear down the walls that divide them.

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