[Episcopal News Service] Global religious leaders including Episcopalians and Anglicans from Latin America and the Caribbean committed Nov. 22 to work together to resist rising hostility toward the “other” in their declaration: “Welcoming the Other — A Multi-Religious Vision of Peace,” according to Religions for Peace press release.

“All faith traditions make clear that it is a religious imperative to welcome the other,” said William F. Vendley, Secretary General of Religions for Peace. “This commitment can guide multi-religious action for peace, the antidote to the
rising tide of hostility.”

The 9th World Assembly of Religions for Peace concluded with more than 600 religious leaders — including Bishop Julio Hoguin, of the Diocese of the Dominican Republic, who for the second time was elected honorary president; Bishop Francisco Duque of the Diocese of Colombia; Bishop Julio Murray of the Episcopal Church of Panama; and Bishop Martin Barahona of the Anglican-Episocpal Church of El Salvador — and people of faith, representing all historic faith traditions and every region of the world, calling attention to an urgent new threat to peace — rising hostility toward the “other.” The Declaration states, in part:

“Rising hostility, in society and within and among religious communities, takes the form of intolerance, and too often violence. . . . Victims of hostility are often vulnerable populations, including members of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities; migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced and stateless persons . . . . A growing number of governments are placing restrictions on religious beliefs and practices. . . . Sectarian and communal violence is dividing societies, fueling conflict, and destroying innocent lives.”

Religious leaders called on all people of faith to “welcome the other” by preventing violence before it erupts, by advocating for “a more robust notion of citizenship that acknowledges basic human rights, including freedom of religion or belief,” and by advancing human development that respects the earth.

Religious leaders urged religious communities to work together to reverse the rising tide of hostility through multi-religious action. In particular, the Vienna Declaration calls on religious leaders and people of faith to “speak out on behalf of vulnerable individuals and groups”; on governments to “provide legal remedies for victims of intolerance”; and on all sectors of society to work together to “eliminate all forms of intolerance and discrimination by states, by non-state actors, by civil society, by religious groups and leaders, and by individuals.”

Holguin also attended the KAICIID Global Forum on the Image of the Other in Interreligious and Intercultural Education, organised by Vienna-based dialogue centre KAICIID, which focused intracultural and interreligios education.