LONDON (RNS/ENI) United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told religious leaders on Tuesday (Nov.3) that they are uniquely equipped to pressure secular leaders to combat climate change.
Ban made the speech at a three-day conference on faith and the environment in England, organized by the Alliance of Religions and Conservation and the United Nations Development Program.
Ban told around 200 leaders representing nine of the world's major religious communities, "The world's great faith communities occupy a unique position in discussion on the fate of our planet and the accelerating impacts of climate change. You are the leaders who have the largest, widest and deepest reach."
With ARC co-founder Prince Philip of England looking on, Ban said, "We have the know-how, we have resources, but the only vacuum is political will. You can inspire, you can provoke, you can challenge your leaders, through your wisdom, through your followers."
Ban said that the major faiths have established, run, or contribute to more than half of all schools worldwide, compose the third largest category of investors in the world, and produce more weekly magazines and newspapers than all the secular press in the European Union.
"Your potential impact is enormous," he said. "You can -- and do -- inspire people to change."
The U.N. head noted that the world's poorest are also the least responsible for the emissions in the atmosphere yet "the most likely to suffer first and foremost" from the impact of climate change.
Ban's remarks come as world leaders prepare for a conference next month in Copenhagen, Denmark, on the environment.
Faith groups, Ban said, speak to the heart of humanity's deepest needs. "This is why the voices, the deeds and the teachings of the world's faith groups are so vitally important. In the coming weeks I urge you to make your voices heard loud and clear," Ban stated.
By Trevor Grundy
Copyright 2009 Religion News Service. All rights reserved. No part of this transmission may be distributed or reproduced without written permission.
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Any religious group, heck, any group, that chooses to follow directives from the United Nations get's what it deserves, in a reaping-the-whirlwind sort of way.
Look what it's done for "main-stream churches" after all!
Yes, the main-stream churches have been taking directives from the UN for all these years. Where do you guys get your dope, anyway?
Just recently a popular TV Evangelist, sorry but I didn't try to remember his name, in an interview with Joy Behar she asked him what he thought of Homosexuals? He said, they are not a gift from God. Now that kind of intellect is an example of my answer of doubt about some religious leaders not being responsible. Of course cknuck that would sound like responsibility to you. Right?
When you come to know God's purpose then you certainly know what is of God and what is not. Homosexuality is not.
We at the Social Justice Roundtable in Perth, WA, are concerned about how things will play out at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen from December 7-18, 2009.
We thought you might be interested in an ecumenical project we have running at the moment, Planet Prayer.
We would like to invite you to join us as we pray that our world’s leaders will make good choices which are sufficiently bold enough to address issues of climate change.
By signing up on the Planet Prayer website, between December 4-18 you will receive a daily email which will include a bible reading, a prayer and prayer points for that day. You can unsubscribe at any time. Full copies of the resources are also available in advance, by request.
To sign up or for more information head to the Planet Prayer website at http://www.planetprayer.wordpress.com
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