"We must tell tyrants to respect religious freedom," declared Cardinal Paul Shan, speaking on Aug. 30 to a top-level conference on religious freedom held in Taipei, Taiwan. "While we cannot expect them to change overnight, over time things can improve," h
“We must tell tyrants to respect religious freedom,” declared Cardinal Paul Shan, speaking on Aug. 30 to a top-level conference on religious freedom held in Taipei, Taiwan. “While we cannot expect them to change overnight, over time things can improve,” he added.
The highest representative of the Roman Catholic Church in the country was one of several religious leaders addressing the International Religious Liberty Association’s regional conference with some 200 delegates in attendance. Cardinal Shan urged people of faith to work together for religious freedom and peace as a top priority.
“World permanent peace is built on truth, forgiveness, reconciliation and concrete actions of love and compassion, but not on violence and war,” the Cardinal concluded.
The theme of the conference, “Religious Freedom, Human Rights, and Security,” focuses on the importance of maintaining such fundamental freedoms as a major contribution to global security, said John Graz, IRLA’s secretary general.
“We have to admit that, without a strong involvement of religious groups in dialogues, the natural long-term answer to the war against terrorism may be a mutual defiance between religions, and a suspicious attitude from the state towards religious minorities,” Graz said. He referenced his visit to Ambon, Indonesia, the scene of much inter-religious strife, and said “inter-religious dialogue is the most significant step to improving security and protecting religious freedom for all.”
Speaking at the commencement of the international religious freedom conference in his city, Taipei’s mayor spoke of the vital importance of religion and freedom of conscience.
“Religion is supposed to be a guarantee of happiness and peace, but unfortunately things are often very different and human rights are often violated,” said Dr. Ying-jeou Ma. “In order to live together, religions must work together. Across the strait [in mainland China] important progress has been made in the area of religious freedom, but there remains much to be achieved. Religion is not emphasized, and people are not so free to worship. Since religion plays such a vital role in society, I welcome your conference to Taipei with your theme of ‘Religious Freedom, Human Rights, and Security.’”
Organized by the International Religious Liberty Association, the conference aimed to highlight the vital importance of maintaining the right to religious freedom as part of a stable and secure society. Jairyong Lee, president of IRLA’s Northern-Asia Pacific region, said, “Religious liberty is important because man’s dignity is based on freedom of conscience. Unfortunately this fundamental human right has been exploited in different parts of the world and many have suffered from the loss of religious liberty. Even today many are struggling to defend religious freedom.”
IRLA vice president Eugene Hsu, originally from Taiwan, observed that, “We have religious freedom here, though we still have some obstacles, so it is good to have this conference in Taipei. With so much discrimination going on in many places, and with countries where religious freedom was well-established now restricting liberties after 9/11, we need to work together to promote and defend religious liberty.”
The IRLA, a non-denominational organization, has worked to promote religious liberty since 1893 and is active through its affiliates in more than 70 countries.