Consultative Meeting with Spiritual Leaders on Peace, Development, Population and the Environment
La Civiltà Cattolica
March 9-10, 1987
Rome, Italy
PREFACE TO THE ROME STATEMENT
by Takeo Fukuda
Honorary Chairman
InterAction Council
My greatest concern has been and is the difficult
situation the world faces. Whether one looks at the world
politically, militarily or economically, problems abound.
And physical conditions surrounding our life, including
population, development and environment, also present us
with unprecedented crises. We simply will have no future,
if we failed in our responses to these precarious
settings. They require perseverance and determined efforts
on our part, if we want to leave the world safe for our
posterity.
Starting with such awareness, I convened in 1983 the
InterAction Council with over two dozens of former heads
of states and governments to consider how these problems
can be solved and to act upon our convictions. While
incumbent leaders are also concerned with these problems,
they are preoccupied with daily events and are constrained
by their respective national interests. I felt that former
leaders with abundant experience which provides a certain
dimension of wisdom, should not be complacent. The
InterAction Council has had five plenary sessions and many
special study group meetings. And we have had considerable
impact on the world.
But I thought further, I have long felt that world peace
and welfare of mankind concern religious groups as much as
political figures. Would it not be significant for
political and religious leaders to gather together and
discuss the problems and issues of mutual concern? I felt
that an understanding could be obtained from religious
groups and that a certain common denominator might be
found. After all, the importance of human being is
universal.
So, some of the InterAction Council members met with
leaders of five major religions of the world in Rome in
the spring of 1987. It was agreed that the world's
situation is such that there is no future for mankind, if
we failed to take up the challenges presented to us and
that there is no room for political and religious leaders
to jointly contribute to solving some of these problems.
It was enormously gratifying for me to confirm that a
broad agreement was reached on the fundamental
difficulties of the world by representatives of the groups
conventionally considered to have such divergent and even
confronting views.
The agreement reached in Rome encourages us to continue
our efforts. The meeting was an unprecedented effort in
the human history and a very valuable one. I know that
continued efforts to seek the meeting of minds will bring
joint actions. I am grateful to have confirmed my belief
with my own eyes and I offer my profound appreciation to
the providence.
PREFACE TO THE ROME STATEMENT
by Helmut Schmidt
Chairman
InterAction Council
Since the deep impressions which my conversation with
Anwar el Sadat in the mid-seventies left on me - and
especially after reflecting more about Sadat - my
curiosity for the religious, philosophical and ethical
tangencies and correspondences among the cultural areas of
this world has become ever greater. Without mutual
understanding it is difficult to serve peace.
But whether in Palestine or any other place of the world,
it is difficult to imagine the idea of an "eternal peace"
(as propagated by Immanuel Kant) to become reality. Of
course, most people accept the moral value of this goal.
Nevertheless, it also seems deductable from history that
there is a high probability for further conflicts that
will be solved by arms also in the future - in spite of a
League of Nations or the United Nations and in spite of a
far reaching cartel of the world powers.
Yet, the fact remains true: the earlier and the more often
conflicts are defused and transformed towards compromises
before leading to international use of force, the more
there is a hope to evade wars. Or, in reverse: the more
people resort to religious, nationalistic, racial or
ideological radicalism and fundamentalism, the lesser will
be their mutual understanding and the greater the
probability of use of force and of war.
It was the wish for mutual listening, which brought
together religious and political leaders in Rome. We did
not only convene as Muslims, Jews and Christians, as
Hindus and Buddhists or as free-thinkers, we also came as
democrats and communists, as conservatives or liberals; we
came from utterly different dictatorships or utterly
different democracies; we came from all the five
continents of the world; we were black, brown, yellow or
white. Despite those enormous differences, we did not only
understand each other, we even agreed on deadly important
questions.
It may seem simple to agree upon the wish for peace. But
it is difficult - and this goes equally for religious and
political leaders - to tangibly serve peace in our daily
actions and omissions. It also may be relatively simple to
realize that the world's population explosion, which so
far could not be slowed down, will in a few generations
not only mean great economic suffering for billions of
people, but also will mean an energy consumption that
inevitably will change the chemical composition of the
troposphere within a few decades and result in a
greenhouse-effect leading to catastrophic consequences for
an even greater number of people. Yet, in our daily
actions and omissions, it is difficult to work for a
slowing down of the world's population growth and to make
family planning a purpose for billions of human
couples.
It was an important signal that priests of all religions
as well as political leaders from all quarters of the
world acknowledged the importance of family planning. Many
other leaders must also be made aware of this
importance.
Scarifies are not unilateral. To give is to have. At the
end of the 20th century, the threats to humanity can only
be avoided by solidarity.
***
ROME STATEMENT ON GLOBAL ISSUES
Introduction
For the first time in recent history, political and
spiritual leaders from all continents and five major
religions met in Rome at the invitation of the InterAction
Council. Over two days, the participants engaged in a
discussion on world peace, the global economy and the
interrelated areas of development, population and
environment.
The leaders agreed that humankind is confronted by the
greatest set of crises in history, yet measures adequate
to meet them have not been defined or devised. Unless
there are effective and correct responses to the challenge
presented by these crisis, there will be no enduring
future.
They further agreed that, in addressing these problems,
there are many areas for cooperation between spiritual and
political leaders in their shared devotion to moral
values, peace and human well-being.
The initial exchange of views resulted in striking degree
of common perception, evaluation of present dangers and
recognition of a need for action built on a widely shared
ethical basis.
The leaders assembled in Rome agreed that such contacts
must be continued by the InterAction Council and others at
the global and regional levels, involving political,
intellectual and scientific leaders, and should influence,
with the support of the media, political decision-making
processes.
Peace
Today, peace has lost its true meaning in a world which
since World War II has not seen a single day without war,
conflict, poverty and widescale human and environmental
degradation. Ethical principles shared by all participants
led them to conclude that genuine peace can only be
accomplished through an ongoing process of dialogue and
receptive understanding permeating all areas of society
and international contacts.
All participants, therefore, welcome efforts to bring
about disarmament. The United States and Soviet Union
should honor their treaty commitments to achieve cuts in
strategic weapon levels and continue negotiations aimed at
even further reductions. Policies of countries like the
People's Republic of China and Argentina to cut their
military budgets provides examples for progress.
Scientific and engineering resources and capabilities
presently devoted to the arms race should be redirected to
the solution of global problems threatening human survival
and welfare: the development of alternative energy
resources and new transportation systems and technologies
to mitigate the effects of impending climatic changes; the
further exploration of the decay of the ozone layer; the
prevention of a continued decline in the number of
biological species; and measures to counter the threats to
the biosphere.
World Economy
For moral, political and economic reasons, humanity must
strive towards a more equitable economic structure
reversing the present appalling poverty which afflicts
vast numbers of human beings throughout the world. Change
can only be accomplished through a series of decisions and
dialogue predicated on enlightened self-interest on the
part of the industrialized and mutually supportive
policies on the part of the developing countries.
The debt crisis with its ominous consequences must be
resolved with a sense of urgency. Debt servicing cannot be
met at the price of suffocating a country's economy and no
government can morally demand of its people privations
incompatible with human dignity. All parties involved must
make a tangible contribution and honor the moral principle
of burden-sharing.
Emergency assistance programmes are an indispensable part
of ensuring the survival of many people and communities
currently enduring abject poverty. There is a paramount
need for fostering a sense of global solidarity for
survival.
Development - Population - Environment
It was stressed that moral values for the family in the
future and the recognition of the common responsibility of
women and men are indispensable in dealing with these
issues. Rapid population growth in many developing
countries vitiates any advance in development. This fuels
the vicious cycle between underdevelopment, population
growth and the erosion of human life-support systems.
Responsible public policies require systematic projections
of population, environmental and economic trends with
particular attention to their interaction.
Cognizant of the different approaches of religions towards
family planning policies and methods, the leaders yet
agreed that present trends make the pursuit of effective
family planning inevitable. The positive experience of
several countries and religions should be shared and
scientific research into family planning should be
accelerated.