Adeboye Asks For Inclusion Of Clergy In Mid-east Peace Talks At US Congress
Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, has now taken his quest for the inclusion of religious leaders in the Mideast peace process to the US Congress, where alongside other religious leaders a call has been made to widen the scope of the peace talks, Empowered Newswire reports.
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"It is time for the voice of religious leaders to be heard in the international arena together with the voice of academics and parliamentarians," he says at a US Capitol meeting during the week, attended by at least two US Senators: Mike Lee, Republican from Utah, Dean Heller, Republican from Nevada, and a US Congressman Louie Gohmert, from Texas.
Adeboye who also hinted that already the Nigerian government has also bought into the idea, explained that such an inclusion "will fill a gap in global diplomacy," specifically regarding the Mideast peace process but also
Alongside other religious leaders from the Abrahamic faith groups-Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the General Overseer of the RCCG has taken the same quest to world leaders at the United Nations, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Israel in the last one year.
In fact a news report by New York Times in June this year described this effort as "Track III Diplomacy," for the Mideast peace process, since there are other tracks at the regional and global levels especially among politicians and public officials.
Speaking at the US Capitol on Wednesday afternoon, Adeboye, represented by the leader of the RCCG in North America, Pastor James Fadele said the global religious leaders are seeking to empower, "for the first time, a global network of spiritual leaders, educators and government officials," to come together and fight intolerance racism, terrorism and violence on all levels.
Noting that the idea was first presented last June at the UN, where Adeboye personally unveiled the initiative, the General Overseer added that the initiative "we are hoping to develop is also aimed to construct the defenses of peace in the minds of men," just as the UNESCO Constitution stated.
The Mideast conflict, Adeboye continued, "is not only about politics-it is also about religious and moral values. The only way to solve it is through education for a culture of peace among all sides to the conflict."
The prominent cleric said the crisis in the Mideast is also about history, religious values and ideal including legal principles, which is why he is arguing around the globe that "the arena cannot be left solely to politicians."
According to the General Overseer of the RCCG, the Mideast Peace negotiations "have been ongoing for decades with no results when left only to the politicians. The gap has to be filled with the involvement of religious leaders, parliamentarians and academic leaders in order to achieve success."
He hinted that the initiative might have received the endorsement of the Nigerian government.
Adeboye then made a call to all members of the US Congress and NGOs in the American capital "to join us in the valiant and crucial effort to promote world peace, environmental ethics and social justice-which are the hallmarks of our mission as democracies and as leaders of the free world."
Some of the groups, leading politicians and religious leaders that Adeboye is collaborating with include parliamentarians from European countries and now members of the US Congress.
The initiative itself comes under the auspices of the Inter-Parliamentary Coalition for Global Ethics which was set up by an Israeli lawmaker, Knesset Member Rabbi Zeev and the Christ the Redeemer's Friends Trust, a London-based outfit formed by Adeboye to help people at risk and promote world peace beyond the walls of the church.
Source:http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/newsflash/adeboye-ask-for-inclusion-of-clergy-in-mid-east-peace-talks-at-us-congress.html
