Interfaith leaders are calling on the world’s industrialized nations to seek peace, justice, and environmental sustainability as they prepare for a historic G8 and G20 meeting near Huntsville, Ont., next June.
On Oct. 14, the Canadian Council of Churches released a four-page document outlining the faith leaders’ expectations for the G8 summit – a meeting that expanded at the end of September to include representatives from all G20 countries. The document urges countries to renew their commitment to the eight Millennium Development Goals – especially as the 2015 deadline approaches, to take concrete measures to reduce climate change, and to reduce small arms and nuclear weapons.
As representatives of the nations converge on Deerhurst Resort for the 2010 summit, global faith leaders will be heading to the University of Winnipeg for a parallel conference intended to put pressure on the industrialized nations to fulfill their obligations to the world’s poor and disenfranchised. This will be the fifth such interfaith summit, but the first time a collection of leaders has released a document early enough for it to be included on the political summit’s agenda.
The World Religions Summit took place from June 21 to 23, 2010.
