2024 International Day of Human Fraternity
Guarding Conscience, Creating a Realm of
Love and Peace Together
Dr. Hong, Tao-Tze
Zhang-men-ren of Tai Ji Men
Vice President of the Association of World Citizens,
NGO in Consultative Status with ECOSOC and Associated with the UN DPI
President of the Federation of World Peace and Love
February 4, 2024
Distinguished guests, dear friends around the globe, ladies and gentlemen, Good Day!
Today, we gather to respond to the United Nations’ 2024 International Day of Human Fraternity. Firstly, I sincerely invite friends from all walks of life to join in prayer for our troubled world, scarred by natural disasters and wars; may the departed rest in peace and the living bear no resentment; may people worldwide awaken their conscience, surrender opposition and obstinacy, dissolve hatred with love, replace division with unity, and may children across the globe regain their smiles and hope, and may our Earth restore harmony and stability.
"International Day of Human Fraternity" commemorates the historic event on February 4, 2019, in Abu Dhabi, where Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed El Tayeb co-authored the declaration “Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together.” This event focused on how people of different faiths can coexist peacefully in our global village. We believe that followers of all religions will face the judgment of truth at the end of their lives. Preachers have a moral responsibility to promote tolerance and peace through cultural understanding, collaboration, and mutual respect, urging world leaders and influencers to spread love, prevent bloodshed, actively end wars, and save the world from moral and conscientious degradation.
Promoting the spirit of love and peace is the lifelong mission of religious believers, guiding countless beings towards kindness and goodness. Every life awakened in conscience can radiate human kindness, illuminating hope for the world. When I met with Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, I mentioned, “Peace needs love, and love needs balance,” and presented His Holiness with “Love of the World, A Declaration of Peace.” Since 2000, Federation of World Peace and Love, carrying the “Bell of World Peace and Love,” has self-funded visits around the world, earnestly consolidating peace aspirations from leaders in all fields, laying the foundation for the welfare of all people, initiating peaceful opportunities through concrete actions, creating a culture of love and peace rooted in sincere goodness, and leading humanity towards a brighter future.
The world is one family, and all beings are brethren. With a compassionate and merciful conscience, who can bear to wage war? The world needs boundless, selfless love and kindness to redress the imbalances caused by hatred and extreme values. I earnestly call for acknowledging the power of the “human heart” and valuing “conscience” as the root of all goodness. Through the inspiration of conscience education, people can discern truth from falsehood, right from wrong, and good from bad. They can embrace differences with love and respect diversity. Cultivating a global perspective of human rights and peace among world citizens embodies the spirit of human fraternity. Uniting all forces of goodness can create a butterfly effect, comforting those suffering from natural disasters, wars, and pandemics, and those in the depths of pain and despair will eventually see the dawn of hope. May the power of goodness rectify chaos, open people’s “eyes of the heart,” feel the world with empathy, interact with humanity thoughtfully, and harmonize relationships among people and all beings.
Life is so fleeting! How can we create infinite value with our finite lives? By adding a bit more goodness and reducing evil, everyone can contribute to realizing a beautiful vision of peace, justice, and kindness. In life, if we proactively offer help and caring, warmth will exist between people, reducing conflicts and opposition. With an inclusive and broad-minded attitude, people of different races, cultural backgrounds, religions, and beliefs can coexist peacefully and harmoniously, fostering sustainable development.
Faced with today’s turbulent world, we need to promote the spirit of love and peace more urgently than ever. Love endows the human spirit with positive energy, inspiring compassion, jointly protecting our human brethren, restoring the Earth’s splendor, rejuvenating all living beings, and leading everyone away from pain, sorrow, and fear towards a bright and happy future!
May conscience guide us and illuminate hope,
May true love spread wide and protect the spirit of life,
May people unite for lasting peace.
Thank you, everyone!