Gypsy Journal - Search for Journals Wylie and Helene
Parliament of the World's Religions

Nelson Mandela Addresses the Parliament

Sunday - 5 Dec 1999
Cape Town , Western Cape - South Africa


Photo Courtesy of William Laufer

Mandela greets parliament with open arms

RELIGION will be vital to helping humanity meet the "tremendous challenges" of the coming century, former South African president Nelson Mandela told spiritual and religious leaders in Cape Town on Sunday.

"We will have to reach deep into the wells of human faith," 81-year-old Mandela, who stepped down as president in June, told more than 3 000 delegates to the eight-day Parliament of the World's Religions.




Photo Courtesy of William Laufer

Draw on the resources of your spirituality!

Mandela paid a special tribute to the role of the religious institutions of his country in the fight against apartheid.

"It was the religious institutions-Christians, Muslims, Hindu and Jewish who bought land, built and equiped schools, found teachers and paid them."

"I appreciate the importance of religion. You have to have been in a South African jail under the apartheid, where you could see the cruelty of human beings to each other in its naked form. Again, religious institutions and their leaders gave us hope that one days we would return." He added: "Many left jail with a higher education because of religious institutions."

"Religion will have a crucial role to play in guiding humanity to meet the tremendous challenges we face," Mandela, who received numerous standing ovations, told the devotees of virtually every religious and spiritual strand on earth.

"We need to be able to draw on the resources of our spirituality," he said. "Religion can be instrumental in helping rid society of such problems as alienation, the abuse of women and children, and the spread of HIV/Aids. He warned that poverty was the "single most dangerous threat to society."




Photo Courtesy of William Laufer

Mandela pays tribute - and receives awards

Mandela, who at the start of proceedings received awards from two religious organisations -- the Temple of Understanding and the World Movement for Non-Violence -- dedicated them to "the millions of unsung men and women who courageously refuse to bow to humanity's baser instincts."

The gathering, which organisers estimate will have drawn some 10,000 people in all, will be formally closed on Wednesday by the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

Part of this report was taken from the Electronic Mail and Guardian



Previous
Jihad and Human Rights
Next
Earth Spirit of Africa
  Wylie and Helene - List of Journals
  Parliament of the World's Religions - Intro Average Rating of 8 Viewers
Chapters of Parliament of the World's Religions
  Preparations are Made
  The Delegates Arrive
  Sight Seeing
  AIDS Memorial Quilt Ceremony
  Opening Procession
  District Six Ceremony
  Opening Plenary
  Shumei Taiko Drum Ensemble
  Transformation through Diversity
  Cape Technicon
  The Future of Religions
  Wishes for the Millennium
  Zulu Dancers
  Living on the Edge of Evolution
  Non-Violence Towards Animals
  Jihad and Human Rights
  Nelson Mandela Addresses the Parliament
  Earth Spirit of Africa
  Greenland's Gift to the World
  A Sample of Other Presentations
  Bible Translation in the Congo
  Spirit in Art Galley
  More Wishes for the Millennium
  Closing Plenary with the Dalai Lama

       

Happy Trails to You

Copyright © 1999 - 2001 Gypsy Journal