CHICAGO (ChurchMilitant.com) – Thousands of people from various religious, indigenous and secular belief systems are gathering this week in Chicago for the 2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions.
Cdl. Blase Cupich, Jennifer Butler and
Ambassador Rashad Hussain
According to the PWR website, this year’s event, which is titled “A Call to Conscience: Defending Freedom & Human Rights,” marks a return to “the birthplace of the modern interfaith movement after 30 years away.”
Chicago’s Cdl. Blase Cupich is one of the “featured luminaries,” along with Jennifer Butler, a Presbyterian minister, Ambassador Rashad Hussain and others.
“Rooted in the diverse beliefs and practices found among the world’s religious traditions and spiritual communities, attendees will explore ways to bring about a more just, peaceful and sustainable world,” Cupich wrote in a statement leading up to the event.
“Knowing it is vital that the Catholic Church remain involved in these principled conversations for the good of our community and world, I welcome the opportunity to take part in these discussions as part of a plenary session at the invitation of the parliament leadership,” he added.
The Windy City cardinal concluded his statement by encouraging people to attend the PWR: “Participating will help you grow in understanding the values and practices that guide members of other religious traditions, while giving you a much broader and deeper understanding of the worldwide Catholic Church.”
What Is the PWR?
According to its website, the PWR “was created to cultivate harmony among the world’s religious and spiritual communities and foster their engagement with the world and its guiding institutions in order to achieve a just, peaceful and sustainable world.”
“Its origins are rooted in the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where the historic first convening of the World Parliament of Religions created a global platform for engagement of religions of the east and west,” the description continues. “Headquartered in Chicago, Il, USA, the Parliament of the World’s Religions is an international 501(c)3 NGO affiliated with the United Nations Department of Public Information.”
The Department of Public Information’s mission is to communicate “the ideals and work of the United Nations to the world.” Those ideals and work include the United Nations Population Fund, which, over the years, the U.S. bishops’ website has condemned in various articles. One such article is titled “The Myth of Overpopulation and the Folks Who Brought it to You.” Another article states, “The old — and real — agenda [of the UNPF] remains unchanged: to liberate women from the shackles of children, husbands and their own biology by legalizing abortion worldwide.”
In addition to abortion, the United Nations pushes countless “ideals” that blatantly oppose Catholic moral teaching.
Nevertheless, the Chicago archdiocese has long embraced the PWR.
In a recent reflection on the 2023 PWR, Susan M. Pudelek, an associate director in the Chicago archdiocese, wrote, “Cardinal Joseph Bernardin was a significant figure at the 1993 plenary sessions, and the archdiocese of Chicago was well represented by the late Fr. Thomas A. Baima, who helped draft the groundbreaking document ‘Towards a Global Ethic: An Initial Declaration.'”
The “groundbreaking” document states, “Our world is experiencing a fundamental crisis: A crisis in global economy, global ecology and global politics,” and it decries that there are “too many old answers to new challenges.”
Toward a solution, the document offers what it calls “principles of a global ethic” and further declares, “We are persons who have committed ourselves to the precepts and practices of the world’s religions. We confirm that there is already a consensus among the religions which can be the basis for a global ethic — a minimal fundamental consensus concerning binding values, irrevocable standards and fundamental moral attitudes.”
A Chicago Priest Reacts
“As a Chi-Town boy who was born and raised in the city on the lake, I witnessed lots of strange and unusual events,” an anonymous Chicago priest told Church Militant. “The riots of 1966 and 2021, digging out after the big blizzards of 1967 and 2011, the great Disco Demolition at Comiskey Park in 1979.”
“One lesser but weird event took place in August of 1993,” he continued, noting this was “when Chicago last hosted the World Parliament of Religions.”
World Parliament of Religions 1993
Before the days of the internet and cell phones, people watched the nightly news, and father tuned in.
“On the first day of this Parliament, they broadcast a short snippet of the opening, a man in light blue flowing clothes silently taking center stage ‘praying,'” he explained. “This man did not say anything audibly, but as the camera panned to his face, his eyes said enough for me as they rolled in their sockets. It was just demonic.”
He was amazed at the bizarre event, which he described as “a bunch of loonies gathering together downtown with Cdl. Bernardin and promoting themselves and their weirdness.”
The 1993 PWR resulted in what the priest called a “nothing burger.” He reports the event received little press, and the little it received was mostly negative.
Father looked into the 2023 PWR, which is promoting freedom, democracy and human rights.
“All good things, but then I scrolled down to one of the listed speakers and saw Nancy Pelosi’s headshot,” he observed. “How can any organization promote fundamental human rights and then deny the rights of children in the womb? Just hypocritical!”
He further observed that religious leaders at this year’s event will address climate change.
“What nonsense” he responded. “For starters, the climate crisis is a hoax, and second, if this were a real issue, would you not select real experts to talk about it instead of self-made religious figures?”
The 2023 PWR, which began Monday and will conclude Friday, is taking place at the McCormick Place Lakeside Center in Chicago. Tickets for the event range from $225 to $550.