INTERVIEW Religious leaders, educators, philanthropists promote borderless spiritual unity

From left are Antonio Ledesma, archbishop emeritus of the archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao, the Philippines, Erlinda Banega, president of the Senior Citizens Organization in Quezon City, the Philippines, Michael Zablan, co-chair of the First Asia-Pacific Family Peace Leadership Conference, and Samuel Salvador, chair of the conference, speak during their interviews with The Korea Times at the Manila Hotel in Manila, the Philippines, Friday. Newsis

By Ko Dong-hwan

• Published Jul 24, 2024 9:34 AM KST
• Updated Jul 24, 2024 9:56 PM KST

MANILA, the Philippines — Religious leaders, educators and philanthropists from the Asia-Pacific region emphasized the importance of love and unity regardless of nationality, religion or social rank to overcome global divisions and conflicts, according to the dignitaries at the First Asia-Pacific Family Peace Leadership Conference, Friday.

The key guests at the three-day event held by the Family Peace Association Asia-Pacific hailed from diverse professional backgrounds and countries but shared a common belief in the event's motto: "One Family Under God." The Global Peace Foundation (GPF), a non-government organization behind the association, has been promoting the motto since 2007. Moon Hyun-jin, the founder of the GPF, has been referring to the motto as the bedrock of a “new civilization” that the world now needs.

Antonio Ledesma, archbishop emeritus of the archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao, the Philippines, said in an interview with The Korea Times that the motto is a reminder of the Philippines’ history, where Christians and Muslims often clashed due to religious differences.

“Both are religions of peace,” Ledesma said. “We should be one family when we all live in the same country.”

He applied the same approach to the divided Korean Peninsula.

“The division is temporary and arbitrary,” he said.

“In fact, the Korean Peninsula is only one culture and, you might also say, one homogeneous society. What must be prioritized, however, is to heal the memories, wounds and division that happened in the past.”

To demonstrate the motto, some of the dignitaries and local Filipino youths visited Tatalon Balangay, Thursday, a local district in Quezon City with a large number of financially troubled households, to provide outreach services including medical checkups, haircuts, free food and blood donations. The visitors believed that their activities helped the community's residents not only appreciate the association’s efforts but also boost their morale under the motto.

Erlinda Banega, president of the Senior Citizens Organization in Quezon City, has been helping the Tatalon community for years. What drove her devotion was the motto.

“Some of the children and women in our community are malnourished. Some children are also unschooled,” said Banega, a supporter of the association.

“We’re thankful for the association’s assistance. Many people in this community don’t know about God. They don’t know about love, either, all because they’re still fighting with hardships. I believe the only way to help them is instilling the motto in their minds.”

Michael Zablan, an engineering and math professor at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Manila and the conference’s co-chair, said, “We see no differences when we look directly into each other’s eyes."

He also joined the outreach activity in Tatalon Balangay, delivering a speech to the residents.

Zablan said that education’s role is to circulate the motto through teachers and textbooks in schools so that youths can easily learn about it. That is why the conference has put together educators, philanthropists and representatives of model households in the Philippines to promote how the concept should be learned through systematic learning.

“We’re inching step by step toward that direction,” he said. “The future especially belongs to young people who will inherit the world. It’s amazing how many local university students have traveled to Manila to help run the conference. They've shown up here because they genuinely aspired to the motto’s value.”

Samuel Salvador, the conference’s chair and chairman of the Asia-Pacific Regional Peace Council of Professionals, also shared the importance of youths learning the motto. He said that K-pop bands can be a good medium for youths who idolize global celebrities.

“These K-pop idols can help put God at the center of families around the world,” said Salvador. “Those brilliant talents can contribute a lot. If they include peace and harmony in undertaking their works and introduce numbers dedicated to those values, they can help greatly.”