He is seen as a religious leader who articulates the moral responsibilities and even clarifies what needs to be done in order to heal communities and to prevent conflict,” said Prof. Karam. “So, his role will continue to be to map out the how and why of resolving and avoiding conflicts, including of living more peacefully with ourselves as people of faith.

...we are living in times when conflicts are erupting all around us, many either with a religious tinge, or where religious reasons are being used to justify atrocities. Again, if religious leaders and their institutions, from all over the world and representing all faiths, are not part of confronting the fallacies of belief and actively advocating for coming together in peace and justice, then who will do so?

The primary duty of every religious leader is to foster harmony and peace in the community of our pluralist nation and safeguard the secularity and religious freedom guaranteed by our Constitution.

It's critical that we do not place emphasis on a particular religion, but rather hold religious leaders accountable to working together for the human rights of all. It’s okay that we’re different.

I believe that the religious have two main tasks. On the one hand, as Ezekiel says, to behave like sentinels, not spies: when there is a threat we must warn and try to solve the problem before it explodes, it is a very big responsibility and if there are so many problems it means that the sentinels did not carry out their job well. Then we must be intercessors and when there is hostility between two groups, families or people, we have to mediate in truth. It is also essential to always keep prayer alive for the Country and for the protagonists so that God converts the heart. Now, it can be said, that the heart of many is of stone, it is up to us to make it flesh. Religions here seek a common line to promote peace.

True religious leaders love and worship the whole creation, seeing it as a manifestation of divine consciousness. They see the unity behind the diversity. However, today, many religious leaders misinterpret the words and experiences of the ancient seers and prophets simply to exploit weak-minded people.

We should be prepared to come to the defense of that priest, rabbi, minister, or layman of the Church, who out of commitment to truth and justice gets into a tight place with his pastor or bishop. It behooves us to stand with that man and help him see his trial through. It is our duty to see to it that his rights of conscience are respected and that no bishop, pastor or other higher body takes that God-given, human right away.

It is clear that religious institutions and leaders have a very critical set of roles to play, especially in this moment of global pandemic. They are needed now more than ever because of the spiritual sustenance that people are looking for due to their rising sense of helplessness.

Political leaders will have to listen to us, because religious leaders represent the wishes, hopes, desires, values of the entire population of Thailand. Dialogue is the only way possible. We are convinced that this is the time: religions can commit themselves. To Buddhists, who are sometimes skeptical about this type of action, we say: this does not mean to go in politics, but help a process of dialogue and act on the conscience of our political leaders.

Sometimes spiritual, religious leaders and interreligious dialogue can pave the way for a dialogue between two sides to a conflict. It can abolish misconceptions, it can create trust, it can promote dialogue and build bridges to peace. In this respect interreligious dialogue can be a foundation between two sides to a conflict.

Our role as God's ministers is that of inspiring hope. The pain is great, and the wounds will take time to heal; without faith we cannot please God and this faith must be practical. As leaders, the challenge we face demands that we take practical steps of faith to heal and restore the hope of the people. We must demonstrate the required tenacity to remove the humiliation from our brothers and sisters whose dignity and rights have been constantly abused by a people bent on exterminating them simply because of different beliefs.

We are living in a global context where freedoms, all freedoms, but especially the freedom of thought, religion and belief, are seriously under attack. If religious leaders are not part and parcel of protecting these freedoms for all people of all faiths all over the world, then who is or will be?

It has been mentioned many times in our discussions that we, religious leaders, should face our governments and protest against their bad governance. We have done it many times but we do not seem to be getting much success. When we protest, they sometimes criticize that we are interfering in politics and that we should confine ourselves to religious matters only. They think that we are supporting one or other of the political parties on the opposition. We should make it clear to them that religious matters include defending the rights of the people.

For this reason, they must believe in the cause for which they are fighting. They must believe in the plan they are asked to execute, and most important, they must believe in and trust the leader they are asked to follow.