Ivory Coast, the Beginning of Peace that Transcends Religion
Media Release
Heavenly Culture, World Peace,
Restoration of Light (HWPL)
Ivory
Coast, the Beginning of Peace that Transcends
Religions
Peace has begun through studying
religious scriptures
Abidjan,
Ivory Coast - On March 14th, at Université Catholique
de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (UCAO) in a country located in West
Africa, Ivory Coast, the ‘Alliance of Religions’ Peace
Office in Republic of Ivory Coast’ was held for the
cessation of war and world peace. This event was hosted by
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (hereby
referred to as HWPL, Chairman Man Hee Lee), a peace
organization whose headquarters is located in South Korea.
21 religious leaders from various faiths such as
Catholicism, Protestant, and Islam and theological students
gathered together to discuss and understand the differences
of each religion.
Registered under the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an NGO, Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light(HWPL) is dedicated to cease all wars in order to bring about world peace and is actively working through its affiliated organizations: International Women’s Peace Group (IWPG, Chairwoman Kim Nam Hee), and International Peace Youth Group (IPYG, executive director Kim Du Hyun).
Under the theme of “The Road toward Peace
through Studying Religious Texts,” the leaders who hope
for peace came together to share and discuss realistic ways
to achieve peace. Some of the prominent participants were
UCAO’s professor Gabriel Zpanjar, Révérend Jean Charles
Essi Anoh, representative pastor of Protestant Church,
Konate moussa, Muslim theology professor, Professor Mathieu
BAMBA Lou from Ivory Coast UNESCO committee.
After
watching a video with various footages of the peace works
that HWPL Chairman Man Hee Lee and IWPG Chairwoman Nam Hee
Kim have done, the leaders had a time to define the true
peace spoken according to their respective religions.
Gabriel Zpanjar, UCAO Philosophy professor and priest
stated, after watching the video, that he became confident
that world peace is possible when religious leaders unite
together. He said “everyone here agreed that this kind of
meeting is extremely important. The decision made through
this meeting is that we need to work towards peace in 3
different ways: understanding each other, accepting one
another, and working together. The reason why we came to
this decision is because these types of meetings are
necessary and justifiable.”
The video also demonstrated the highlights from the World Alliance of Religions’ Peace (WARP) Summit hosted by HWPL in last September in Seoul, South Korea. Over 680 religious leaders from every corner of the world came and signed a peace agreement which asks the leaders to transcend religions, race, and countries in order to work to end wars and bring world peace. The Alliance of Religions’ Peace Office Meeting in Ivory Coast was the fruit of the noteworthy peace movement of HWPL and signing of the agreement of the religious leaders at the WARP Summit. This interfaith gathering will be held continuously, thus religious leaders will be able to understand differences between religions and put their efforts to prevent any religious conflicts.
HWPL Chairman Man Hee Lee, who is leading the works of this peace movement, has stated, “As a war veteran, I’ve experienced the devastation caused by war at firsthand. It is the duty of our generation to end wars, protect the youth, and leave peace as a legacy for future generations” and that he will not stop working for peace until it is fully achieved.
HWPL is currently organizing the commemoration event of the second-year anniversary of the Declaration of World Peace on this coming May 25th.
ENDS