24.09.2012
Dublin Faith Leaders Walk For Peace
Dublin City Interfaith Forum (DCIF) marked the United Nations International Day of Peace with an Interfaith Walk of Peace yesterday (Sunday September 23).
Leaders of various religious communities, including Archbishop Michael Jackson, members of the Dublin City Interfaith Forum and others gathered at the Peace Park on Christchurch Place and walked together behind a peace banner to the Mansion House, where they were met by Councillor Edie Wynne on behalf of Lord Mayor of Dublin.
This was the first interfaith march to take place in Dublin to mark the International Day of Peace which was established by a United Nations resolution in 1981. In 2002 the General Assembly officially declared September 21 as the permanent date for the International Day of Peace. The Dublin Walk of Peace was held on the Sunday nearest to September 21.
Welcoming the Interfaith Walk of Peace at the Mansion House, Councillor Wynne said: “The City of Dublin is, for some time now, a place of diversity, a place where religions, cultures and people meet, mix and develop. This constitutes our true identity. Properly managed, this diversity gives us great strength. Mismanaged, it risks weakening us greatly. Information and education alone is not enough. People need to meet face to face, experience diversity and discuss issues with people who differ. Communities need to reach out to each other. Dialogue and exchange between people of different views, cultures and faiths is the glue that will hold us together and enrich us all.”
Commenting on the event Archbishop Michael Jackson said: “Initiatives such as this walk to mark the UN International Day of Peace are important to help build solidarity, trust and friendship in our city. This walk, set as it is, in an interfaith context, shows in a very public way the desire for peace among a wide cross–section of the community here.”
The Dublin City Interfaith Forum whose members include Baha’I, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh communities, works to educate and encourage people of different faiths to dialogue and work together in matters of policy, strategy and action and challenge all forms of injustice and discrimination.