Practices of Peace To Awaken Mind and Heart
- 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 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.
Exerpt from “Our Endangered Values”
by Jimmy Carter
“I asked him what made him so gentle but effective…” Jimmy Carter:
“Pues, nuestro Senor no puede hacer mucho con un hombre que es duro.,”
(Well, our Lord cannot do much with a man who is hard.)
Rev. Cruz responded.
He noted that Christ himself, although the Son of God, was always gentle with those who were poor or weak… “You only need two loves in your life: for God, and for the person in front of you at any particular time.”
Excerpts from Spiritual Roots of Restorative Justice
edited by Michael Hadley:
In regards to Creation: “Judaism speaks of the sanctity of people in a universe where God places upon each individual the responsibility for working toward the completion of His creation.” Judaism sees a world in which no human being is a throw away person. This is important for Restorative Justice Initiatives, which seek healing and reconciliation. “In this system, whoever is not involved in alleviation of human need is not living a full life.” Eliezer Segal
“Buddhist monastic communities focus on helping the offender recognize and reflect upon the offense. Building self esteem is a major part of the process of accepting responsibility for all actions. Justice grows out of mercy.”
“One’s dharma is to seek for and practice the truth of all religions and this truth is nonviolence and selfless service to all humankind for we are all children of God,” Mahatma Ghandi.
“Are we to believe the media that portrays culturally determined repressive social orders as principal versions of Islam or to find the lesser known version, the authentic version – which envisions a humane, compassionate and all embracing social order,” Nazir Ahmad.