In a historic encounter at Asia’s largest mosque, Pope Francis and Indonesian grand imam Nasaruddin Umar signed a joint declaration on Sept. 5 calling on religious leaders to deepen their cooperation in order to defend human dignity and fight climate change.
Asia and Religions for Peace
Modern Slavery – Workplace Justice Visa and Support Programme
The Australian Government has introduced a visa and a support programme – are aimed to assist migrant workers who experience exploitation in Australia. Exploitation takes many forms and has different names too. You may recognise words or phrases such as ‘wage theft’, ‘modern slavery’, ‘forced labour’, or ‘human trafficking’, which also describe exploitation.
Pope will visit Jakarta’s Istiqlal mosque at start of interfaith Asian trip
When Pope Francis begins his Asia tour next week, one of his early stops will be at Indonesia’s iconic Istiqlal mosque.
The 87-year-old head of the Catholic Church will hold an interfaith meeting with representatives of the country’s six officially recognized religions as the populous Southeast Asian nation faces growing challenges to its tolerant image.
Strategic Intervention: An ecumenical reflection on human trafficking
A workshop on 30 July—World Day Against Trafficking in Persons—lifted up voices of survivors and experts, offering global solutions and best practices. Co-organized by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation and ecumenical partners in New York, the hybrid event was titled “Strategic Intervention: An ecumenical reflection on human trafficking.”
Increase in Human Trafficking – 2024
There has been a 12% increase in reports of human trafficking and slavery to the Australian federal police in the 2023-2024 financial year, according to data released as part of the United Nations’ World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.
Artificial Intelligence: AI Ethics for Peace – World Religions commit to the Rome Call
An historic multi-faith event will take place in Hiroshima, Japan, on July 9th and 10th, 2024. Titled AI Ethics for Peace: World Religions commit to the Rome Call, this event holds profound significance as it convenes in Hiroshima, a city that stands as a powerful testament to the consequences of destructive technology and the enduring quest for peace. In this symbolic location, leaders of major world religions will gather to sign the Rome Call for AI Ethics, emphasizing the vital importance of guiding the development of artificial intelligence with ethical principles to ensure it serves the good of humanity.
The event is promoted by the Pontifical Academy of Life, Religions for Peace Japan, the United Arab Emirates’ Abu Dhabi Forum for Peace, and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel’s Commission for Interfaith Relations.
Asian Conference of Religions for Peace – Concluding Statement
The Asian Conference of Religions for Peace – which has 24 member nations – Religions for Peace Australia is a foundation member. The recent Executive Meeting of the Asian Conference of Religions for Peace issued a concluding statement which addressed the Gaza situation, and reviewed the recent five-year action plan.
DIAN/Interfidei Human Trafficking Discussion
DIAN/Interfidei will conduct the third of their discussion series on Anti-Human Trafficking online on 7 May 2024. This discussion is open to the public. Sign language interpreters and translators from Indonesian to English are available.
Pope Francis to visit 4 nations across Asia and Oceania in September
Pope Francis will journey to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore on September 2-13, 2024.
Beyond War and Towards Reconciliation: Multi-Religious Peace Roundtables The Second Tokyo Peace Roundtable Statement
We, religious leaders, representatives of diverse faiths, bodies, and religious institutions (Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism) from Colombia, Haiti, India, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Mali, Myanmar, Palestine, Peru, Russia, Spain, Türkiye, Ukraine, and the United States, coming from contexts of ongoing conflict and war, came together for the Second Tokyo Peace Roundtable, to build trust, heal divisions, and foster forgiveness and reconciliation for more peaceful, just, and inclusive societies.
Asian Conference of Religions for Peace Urgent Appeal for COP 28
The 28th Conference of the Parties (COP 28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is now taking place in Dubai, UAE, with leaders from 198 countries and regions discussing measures to address global warming. The main focus of the conference is to establish a concrete path toward the international goal of limiting the global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. This is because there is concern that if the 1.5°C threshold is exceeded, the devastating effects of climate change on humanity, the earth and its ecosystems will result.
Petition to Pope to make St. Joseph Vaz a Patron Saint of Interreligious Relations
St. Joseph (Naik) Vaz was canonized in 2015 by Pope Francis. In 2021 Pope Francis was petitioned to make him Patron Saint of First Responders for washing the sores and nursing the abandoned victims of a smallpox epidemic in the Buddhist Kingdom of Kandy at the risk of getting infected himself. This resonated with our humanitarian needs during the Covid crisis. Now, there is a new petition to Pope Francis to make St. Joseph (Naik) Vaz Patron Saint of Interreligious Relations.
