November 20-22, 2013
The 9th World Assembly of Religions for Peace (RfP) takes place from 20 – 22 November in Vienna, Austria.
Maria Voce, the president of the Focolare Movement will be participating in this Assembly together with 600 religious leaders from various parts of the world and representatives of governments, intergovernmental organizations, charitable foundations and other sectors of civil society.
As from this year,Maria Voce is Co-President of the World Council of RfP together with 49 other representatives of different religions and cultures, among them Rev. Nichiko Niwano (Buddhist, President of Rissho Kosei-kai,Japan),Chief Rabbi David Rosen, (Jewish, President of the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations), Mme. Cissé Hadja Mariama Sow (Muslim, President of Muslim Women of Guinea), Dr. Agnes R. Abuom, (Anglican, Executive Committee, World Council of Churches, Kenya).
The IX Assembly of RfP is proposing tolerance and “welcoming the other” to counter rising hostility against the “other”, thus promoting human dignity, shared well-being and citizenship. The motto for this event is ‘Welcoming the other’. (See IX World Assembly RfP Theme Paper) .
Maria Voce will give her intervention during the afternoon plenary session of November 20. She will speak about “Welcoming the other – a multireligious vision of peace”. (See IX World Assembly RfP Programme)
Chiara Lubich, foundress of the Focolare Movement, always supported the work of RfP. During her speech at the VII World Assembly of RfP held in Amman on November 29, 1999 she said:
“[W]e are convinced that, in spite of everything, peace is possible, and that it is the only feasible path for a future worthy of the highest human values. We are here because we are deeply convinced that working for peace corresponds to our innermost vocation, to the most profound aspirations of the human heart, and, in a word, to our being women and men of religion.”
Updated on November 20, 2013
LH
SIF – Focolare Information Service
