Religious leaders head to Belgium for Peace Conference

ANTWERP (BELGIUM) – 300 religious leaders set to travel to Belgium for the “Peace is the Future” Conference from Sunday to Tuesday.

The annual conference for ‘People and Religions’ is this year being sponsored by the community of Sant’Egidio and will meet under the theme “Peace is the future: religions and cultures in dialogue one hundred years after the First World War”.

Taking place whilst armed conflicts continue in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Northern Africa, organisers hope that the centenary of the First World War will induce reflection on the futility of war. Speaking to conference participants last year in Rome, Pope Francis encouraged them to “keep the light of hope lit, praying and working for peace.”

Notable persons due to attend include Martin Schulz, president of the European parliament, Msgr. Johan Bonny, the Bishop of Antwerp and Vian Kakheel, Iraqi parliamentarian and representative of the Yazidi ethnic minority currently under persecution from IS. As well as religious leaders, political, cultural and socio-economic representatives from countries such as Iraq, Syria, Kurdistan, Nigeria, Ukraine and the Philippines will take part.

The conference begins with an inaugural ceremony in Antwerp’s Stadsschouwburg on Sunday afternoon and continues with 25 round table discussions. On Tuesday the conference will come to an end with each religion holding prayer sessions in separate locations followed by an inter-religious procession and a proclamation of the 2014 Appeal for Peace.