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AMB. PHILLIP V. SANCHEZ
Publisher, Noticias del Mundo and Tiempos del Mundo
PLENARY SESSION V
“Prospects for Peace in the 21st
Century”
In the Christian good book it says that “the first shall be last and the last shall be first.” I have people say to me, “You had better make sure that in this case the last is the last.” We have had a lot of material to cover that we have covered together. It has been an interesting conference.
We didn’t agree with everything we heard, and we are not expected to. But I just want all of you to know, very sincerely, it has been a great experience for me. We’ve been listening to Dr. Simes and my son [Dr. Frank Kaufmann]. I call him my son because I have worked with him in conferences for about 50,000 years, and I never get tired of hearing him. And why should I? He is one of the most profound thinkers that I know. I consider myself privileged to work with him. Now that I have gotten to know Dr. Simes and the rest of you, I think the same is true for all of you.
Mr. Douglas M. Joo, president of the World Media Association, my dear friend and brother, young son Michael Marshall, conference director Ms. Tomiko Duggan, general manager of the World Media Association, fellow journalists, other members and friends of the World Media Association, and ladies and gentlemen.
As I said before, this has been a fascinating conference. We viewed the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and what flowed from them from really every conceivable angle. We have looked at causes. We have looked at consequences. We have considered military threats and responses. And then we shifted gears and thought about religions and the clash of civilizations. Some would say at that point is when we began to get into trouble. I don’t think so. I think journalists can deal with any subject man has concocted and those which he conceivably can concoct.
Nevertheless, perhaps at this point you might begin to suffer from overload. However, even though the conference is nearly over, let me make your job just a little bit harder. I want to challenge you one more time. And challenge is the word I want to use.
Sometimes, as journalists, we run with the herd, don’t we? We write or broadcast the same as everyone else and don’t step out of line. But at our best we have a certain curiosity, a curiosity that leads us to shine light in new areas. A curiosity that helps us to show that the world is a far more interesting place, after all, than many people believe.
Now, I am probably one of the most curious people in the world. I also tell myself that I am open-minded, that I am a modern-day journalist and a professional. Well, I want to add one more way of looking at the global issues that were brought to the fore as a result of 9/11. That is—get ready—the perspective of spirituality. This conference brought us together to discuss “The Media’s Role in Peace and Conflict.” We did talk a lot about conflict. Maybe we can end this conference with a word about peace.
As Dr. Kwak pointed out in the opening yesterday, religion can be a force for good or evil. We know that. Which side prevails, though, should concern all of us a great deal. As Dr. Kaufmann pointed out just now, long-term solutions to the issues we are considering here have to involve the world’s religions since they do, after all, underpin the world’s major cultures.
The question affecting the future of all of us is what is going to happen to these cultures, especially between the West and Islam. Dr. Pipes had some thoughts about that yesterday. You recall, also, Mr. Rehman. They were not necessarily converging thoughts, but thoughts that led us along the path that we started and that we hope to finish today.
I know that daily deadlines give us journalists not very much time for this type of thinking, but once in a while it does us good to step back, to try to imagine the really big picture. I believe that there is hope, but only through some transcendent vision—a new voice offering a pattern, lifting us beyond our cultural differences, beyond the differences we have or think we have.
The seeds of new patterns for human culture almost always first appear in the form of spiritual inspiration. Who could have thought 2,000 years ago that the life and words of the itinerant Jewish teacher we know as Jesus would transform history in the way they did?
That’s why I want to ask you, as you get ready to head home, to consider, for just a moment, the spiritual perspective. And I want to introduce a fascinating example of what I mean that caught my attention. I mean it really caught my attention. It challenged me. And now I want to challenge you, knowing that we are all friends here.
Recently, the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification published a rather unusual—and perhaps astounding—advertisement in about 40 of the world’s leading newspapers. The federation, as you may know, is headed by the Reverend Sun Myung Moon and his able wife, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon.
Felicity Barringer, writing in the New York Times, presented a slightly flip description of that ad. Flip, perhaps, but not necessarily offensive. She described it as a full-page ad presenting the text of a meeting “in the spirit world” attended by, among others, Jesus, Muhammad, Confucius, and Buddha, their disciples, communist leaders, and even several journalists. There, the great religious leaders proclaimed their unity in spirit and credited Rev. Moon’s teaching for bringing them together.
Now ladies and gentlemen, I am confident that today’s panel discussion is not prepared to solve this issue. However, I am confident that we, as journalists, can deal with it, that we can discuss it openly. After all, we are all professionals.
First or all, to take this all in, I invite us all to relax. Open your minds for a while. If we believe in the existence of a higher dimension of reality, of God, of an invisible realm, this will call us, you and me, to reflect on the implications of that belief.
As I mentioned, the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification is publishing this document in 40 countries worldwide and throughout America. The document contains a message that is apparently meant to have significant practical as well as spiritual import. It is a unifying message, say the drafters. It addresses believers of all faiths as one global family. I don’t think any of us want to argue with that.
Here is an overview: The entire publication involves a ceremony held in the spiritual world for the adoption and proclamation of a written resolution by the representatives of the five great religions that were in attendance: Christianity, Confucianism, Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism.
The resolution says this:
- We resolve and proclaim that God is the Parent of all humankind.
- We resolve and proclaim that Reverend Sun Myung Moon is the Savior, Messiah, Second Coming, and True Parent of all humanity.
- We resolve and proclaim that the Unification Principle is a message of peace for the salvation of humanity and the gospel for the Completed Testament Age.
- We resolve and proclaim that we will accomplish the peaceful unification of the cosmos through living for others while transcending religion, nationality, and race, centering on true love.
- The representatives of the five great religions resolve and proclaim that we will harmonize with one another, unite, and move forward, in order to bring about the nation of God and world peace, while attending True Parents.
There is more. What followed was an astounding array of testimonies from the attendees, an array that has come to be called the “Cloud of Witnesses Testimony.” Here are some of them.
First I’ll pick a couple from Christianity:
Martin Luther (religious reformer). His message: “I believe that God is the Parent of humankind. I believe that Reverend Sun Myung Moon is the Lord of the Second Advent. I proudly proclaim that the Unification Principle is the new gospel for humanity. I, Martin Luther, pledge that I will believe in these truths and live a life of attendance, to become a pioneer for humanity.”
Then there was John Wesley (missionary and revivalist): “I, John Wesley, proclaim that Reverend Sun Myung Moon is the True Parent of all humankind, and I pledge and pledge again to live according to the direction and teachings of the True Parents.”
John Harvard (founder of Harvard University): “I, John Harvard, truly wish that not only the youth of Harvard University but those of all the universities of the world can be armed with Unification Principle and receive the guidance of Reverend Sun Myung Moon. I pledge to participate actively in Reverend Sun Myung Moon’s movement for world peace.”
From Confucianism:
Confucius: “The 120 figures representing Confucianism pledge to accept the Unification Principle as the truth and to believe and attend the Reverend Sun Myung Moon as the Savior and Messiah in the Completed Testament Age.”
Chung Gong, renowned for his benevolence, great generosity and virtue, added: “I will follow the path that my master, Confucius, has taken.”
And then from Buddhism:
Buddha: “Reverend Sun Myung Moon! True Parents! The 120 people of Buddhism vow and pledge to advance toward a movement of peace that will guide humanity in a new direction. We pledge to attend God as the True Parent of humankind and Reverend Sun Myung Moon as a True Parent, and to equip ourselves with the Unification Principle and Unification Thought.”
The Venerable Ananda, a younger cousin of Buddha, one of the 10 greatest disciples and allegedly the greatest in knowledge, said: “It is only natural to attend Reverend Sun Myung Moon as the Messiah of the Completed Testament Age, because all of the fundamental truths Buddha taught to us are found in the Unification Principle.”
Finally from Islam:
Abubakr (First Kahlifa): “Allah is actually God. God and Allah are the same being. Reverend Sun Myung Moon has let the world know that God is the Parent of humankind. He is the True Parent of humankind. Through the Unification Principle, I have discovered truth that has moved me deeply.”
But the best, not the best, but to me the most interesting came from representatives of the communist world.
Karl Marx: “I, Marx, have met God. I have found that he is the Parent of humankind. I have felt the greatness of God’s love. I clearly convey to you who God is. He is the Parent of humankind. Reverend Sun Myung Moon, who is on the earth, brought this fact to light. The Divine Principle and Unification Thought express the original standards that open the way to salvation, so you must read them. I ask this of you seriously.”
And most importantly, ladies and gentlemen, there was a letter from God. It read:
Dear Beloved True Parents. I am the God of all people. I, the God of all people, love True Parents! I love you greatly! How could I help but feel happiness and gratitude for you? Although the True Parents reside in a deep place in my heart, I cannot adequately express my love for you in words.
As you, the True Parents, have now succeeded in everything and have raised everything to its true level, you are now the Savior, Messiah and King of Kings of all of humanity! Because the Founders and representatives of Christianity and the other religious adopted written resolutions in which they, without exception, resolved to participate in realizing the peaceful unification of the cosmos, while attending the True Parents, it is right and proper that the True Parents are exalted in the position of True Parents of all humankind.
Despite the people of the world not yet fully understanding the position of True Parents, because the position should be fulfilled internally, I, the God of all people, invite the True Parents to the position of King of Kings.
I know and remember all of the difficulties, pain and suffering that you have had to endure. I have seen it all. It was all my responsibility, yet you endured and raised a victorious standard. How can I ever forget you? I am grateful. I am so happy because of you. Truly, I thank you for your hard work. I, the God of all people, sincerely convey this to my beloved True Parents.
Ladies and gentlemen, after about my second reading of that ad I asked myself: Is it that astounding? After all, you and I know that the idea of a world of existence after death is common to all of the world’s great religious traditions, isn’t it? Even Western culture, which has been the seedbed of materialist philosophies in recent centuries, has such traditions. Plato, to whom, after all, Western philosophy is but a series of footnotes, thought this material world an imperfect shadow image of an unchanging invisible world.
There are also traditions, in almost every part of the world, of communications from the invisible world to the visible world. You know that. While these are often of a trivial nature, at times of cultural confusion they can take on a different character. At such periods of history, new voices of a prophetic nature often appear, teaching new patterns for human life. This process is frequently accompanied by spiritual phenomena.
Perhaps this message is like that. Perhaps it has significant practical as well as spiritual import. After all, it is designed to be and is a unifying message. It addresses believers of all faiths as one global family. It is apparently intended to draw all men and women to the one Holy God and help bring world peace.
In closing, let me just add the words by the famous Latino author, Ramon de Campoamor who said, and I’ll translate it:
“In this fickle, treacherous world
Nothing is false nor is true;
It depends on the shade of the glasses
The glasses through which you view.”
Ladies and gentlemen, I have known and worked with members of the Family Federation for World Peace for many years. They respect my views and I respect theirs. We share some key beliefs. One of the principal beliefs that we share is that the foundation for peace is common faith in God and the practice of true parental, conjugal, and familial love.
My fellow journalists of all faiths, or perhaps none, I don’t believe that any committee or coalition alone can instigate true love, for this devolves to substantial human examples. Examples, perhaps, like yourselves. Thank you very much.
