At a Crossroads: An Intergenerational and Multireligious Response to the Social and Environmental Crises, co-organised by Religions for Peace, the City Council of Manresa, Spain, Catalonia, and Religions for Peace-Spain-GTER, was concluded on the morning of 30 November 2022 with the signing of The Manresa 2022 Pact: Multireligious and Multisectoral Global Pact for the Development of Resilient, Sustainable, Safe, and Inclusive Cities (The Manresa 2022 Pact) in Manresa, Spain.
To commemorate the 500th anniversary of St. Ignatius’ sojourn to the City of Manresa, Religions for Peace and the City Council of Manresa began with gathering the multireligious leaders to walk together on a historic interfaith pilgrimage through the Camino Ignaciano.
The Manresa 2022 Pact is a formal commitment to combatting global climate change and creating sustainable, just, and inclusive cities. Signatories of The Manresa 2022 Pact include religious leaders, youth leaders, government officials, environmental experts and attendees of the conference.
The Manresa 2022 Pact calls for a commitment to an intergenerational, interreligious, multisectoral and gender-sensitive approach towards addressing inequalities in cities, reflecting on and promoting awareness for the finite natural resources of the world. There were 49 international religious leaders and 21 national religious leaders representing 16 different faiths, 143 total in-person participants, 10 local government officials, 503 virtual participants, and 938 people reached through livestreams.
As Professor Azza Karam, Secretary General of Religions for Peace noted, “It is not only that we are talking about the environment, it is that we are an international, interfaith, intergenerational and gender-sensitive call for action.” The forum was attended by prominent religious and youth leaders such as Honorary Ela Gandhi, Co-President of Religions for Peace, who said, “Sustainability is one of the key factors of why it is important for us, as faith-based organisations, that every one of our faiths has something to say about ourselves in relation to our environment.” Sheikh Shaban Mubaje, Grand Mufti of the Uganda Supreme Council, noted that “Climate change is a result of humans; and, religious leaders have a heavenly guidance on how to reverse it.” Dr. Renz Argao, Coordinator of Religions for Peace International Youth Committee stressed, “We need to continue to bring together and harness our faith resources to help communities and people. Bringing together what we have to share is important.”
The discussions over the past three days and The Manresa 2022 Pact commit the participants to continue this transformative work beyond this meeting, reflecting on the ways our personal and collective actions can contribute to balance the effects of climate change, lead to conscious and responsible lifestyles, and work with cities and governments to achieve nationally determined commitments. The City Council of Manresa and Religions for Peace are committing to disseminate The Manresa 2022 Pact amongst other mayors and international religious institutions, as well as to United Nation bodies.
Be a part of the change and sign your name to The Manresa 2022 Pact
View select photos and videos from the Conference
Image Credits: Cruïlla de Camins Fòrum Manresa 2022 / @manresa2022, Cruïlla de Camins Fòrum Manresa 2022 / @manresa2022
