Working to promote freedom of conscience for every person, no matter who they are or where they live.

June 2001

Dear IRLA Board Member:

The first portion of 2001 has been rich with events and meetings for the IRLA. As we look forward to the upcoming Congress and symposiums, I want to share with you a short report about what has been done since the beginning of 2001.

 

 

  1. Preparation for the World Congress in Manila

     

    January 10-18 Don Robinson and I went to Manila to work with our IRLA colleagues on the upcoming World Congress planned for June 10-14, 2002. It was challenging, but we accomplished what we needed to while there. We had a training session of three days; a meeting with the First Lady; and visits to the hotel and its facilities. It is a beautiful hotel and rooms are available to us at a very special price. Don and his colleagues have been working hard to settle on an equitable agreement. Ambassador Bien Venido Tejano was very helpful. He welcomed us at the airport where we received special treatment. Our time spent in Manila was most fruitful and we were very well cared for.

     



  2. IRLA World Congress Guest Speakers

     

    The President of the Philippines, the Minister of Justice, and the President of the Senate, have already given their acceptance to attend the Congress in 2002. United Nations Under-Secretary-General Joseph V. Reed, Ambassador Robert Seiple; Bishop Gunnar Stälsett; Professor Roland Minnerath; Professor Alberto de la Hera, Director of Religious Affairs in Spain; Professor Rosa Maria Martinez de Codes; Professor Yang Hui-Lin from Beijing; Denton Lotz, General Secretary of the Baptist World Alliance; Professor Jeremy Gunn, Dr. Cole Durham; Attorney Lee Boothby...all are confirmed speakers. We are waiting to hear from our guests from Malaysia, Indonesia, and other parts of Asia. Our list is not even completed, yet!

     



  3. Meeting with the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Attorney

     

    James Standish, my associate and Legislative Liaison, and I attended the first meeting of the year of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, February 13. It was interesting to talk with members of the Commission about the world situation. James and I participated at a hearing on Indonesia and Vietnam. Having a full-time associate for Washington is very much appreciated. James studies the government bills and is very active in Washington.

     



  4. Liberty Tour 2001

     

    Many of the IRLA team here were part of the promotional tour for Liberty magazine earlier this year. Members included Bert Beach, Jonathan Gallagher, James Standish, and Mitchell Tyner. I traveled to New Market, Virginia and Redlands, California representing this fine magazine.

     



  5. The International Bermuda Conference in Paradise

     

    During March 14-16, we emigrated to Bermuda for the first International Conference on Religious Freedom there. We stayed at a most attractive hotel on the water. There were beautiful islands surrounding us, but we did not have time to visit the beaches. The conference was opened by the Premier, The Honorable Jennifer Smith, and the key speaker was Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ambassador Joseph V. Reed. Among our speakers were Professor Rosa Maria Martinez de Codes; Rosa Guerreira from UNESCO, Tad Stahnke of the U.S. Commission of International Religious Freedom; and Arthur Fletcher, the Father of Affirmative Action in the United States. Also in the program were Professor Cole Durham; Attorney Lee Boothby; Dr. Bert Beach, and Attorney Mitchell Tyner. The conference was excellent with many shared ideas. The Premier of Bermuda invited us to her residence, and the media coverage throughout the conference was very thorough. Jonathan Gallagher can be credited for that.

     



  6. Religious Liberty within a Religious Dialogue

     

    March 31-April 1, I joined with the John Weidner Foundation members who gathered in Geneva. We visited different locations where John Weidner, who saved the lives of nearly 1,000 people during the war by transporting them across the border, crossed the Franco-Swiss border. A group of French Resistants and members of the John Weidner Network were part of the meeting. Such memories motivated us to all the more defend and promote human rights. Then April 2-7, I was part of the dialogue between the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Seventh-day Adventists. Bert Beach was the co-chair, and my task was to lecture on religious freedom. I was pleased to see a special paragraph on religious freedom in the final report.

     



  7. Jumping to Korea and China

     

    April 26-May 3
    Our IRLA Secretary General for the Northern Pacific Region invited me to lead a training seminar in Seoul. I also was very pleased to meet the Swiss Ambassador. May 3-7, Tad Shinmyo and I went to Beijing. A friend of ours was at the airport to meet us and gave us a great welcome. The purpose was to meet Professor Yang Hui-Lin of the Renmin University of China in Beijing. It was a very good meeting during which we discussed the possibility of an upcoming symposium to be held there. We also met the leaders of the 3-Self Movement and the Religious Affairs authorities. It was a most interesting meeting. Authorization was given to speak a few minutes in the Beijing Church. We later visited the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. Thanks to our friends there, it was a very useful, profitable, and most enjoyable stay.

     



  8. Third Meeting of Experts in Spain

     

    May 17-20 of this year, a group of 20 experts invited by the School of Law of the University of Extremadura in Cáceres, Spain, were gathered in preparation for the upcoming United Nations Conference of Madrid on Religious Freedom and Education. Before the meeting, three groups responded to a questionnaire concerning religion and education; the responses were organized and condensed, and the findings were distributed to those present at the meeting. It was a great assemblage. Among the experts were Bishop Gunnar Stälsett, David Little, Jean-Paul Willaime, Gerhard Robbers, Monsignor Minnerath, Professor de la Hera, and Professor Rosa Maria Martinez de Codes—they were, once again, fabulous. We give great thanks to Professor Jaime Rossel for organizing this event. While there, a Declaration was finalized. You can read the final document on our webpage at www.irla.org.

  9. Moscow: A Model for IRLA

     

    From Madrid, Bert Beach and I went to Geneva to participate in the working group of the Christian World Communions. I then traveled to Moscow where Professor Anatoly Krasikov, IRLA Russian Chapter President, and Victor Krushenitsky, IRLA Secretary General, welcomed me at the airport. A training session was organized with our correspondents and IRLA national directors from Kazakstan, Ukraine, Georgia, Belarus, Siberia, and Moldovia. The IRLA -Russian Chapter's Board Meeting was held May 25. Members of this distinguished Board include leaders from the religious groups of the Orthodox, Baptists, Pentecostals, Adventists, Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, and non-believers as well. The main items discussed were the elections and the next International Conference of Moscow. IRLA is a co-sponsor - Cole Durham and Lee Boothby will represent our Board. It took 15 seconds to reelect Victor Krushenitsky as Secretary General. Our Russian chapter is a model for its diversity and its activity.

     



  10. First Symposium with the International Centre on Government and Religion

     

    The new Centre was created as a result of the synergy between IRLA, Andrews University, and Dr. Humberto Rasi. This Centre was also one of my dreams. The Centre's director, Dr. Gary Ross, with the support of the IRLA, organized a symposium on: "Proselytism and Religious Freedom" Wednesday, May 30. You can read the report of this in-depth meeting by Jonathan Gallagher, found on our webpage. The Centre will develop branches on several continents in the near future.

     



  11. Special Guests

     

    More recent special Guests of the IRLA were: Reverend Setri Nyomi of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches; Dr. Denton Lotz, General Secretary of the Baptist World Alliance; Reverend Dr. Ishmael Noko, General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation; Professor Jeremy Gunn; three delegations from Indonesia, His Excellency Jerome Mendouga, Ambassador of the Republic of Cameroon; Dr. Nimeiri, former President of Sudan.

     



  12. Just a Few Words...

    Professor David Little from Harvard University has accepted the honor of becoming a member of our Board of Experts. David Little is president of the International Academy for Religious Freedom, and a former member of a United States Commission
    The newly formed Ukraine Chapter of IRLA will be voted in September during our Assembly of Members
    The International Congress of Lima will be November 28-30. The Peruvian Chapter will be responsible for that great meeting
    Jonathan Gallagher will attend the United Nations World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa.

Keep in touch with what is happening by visiting our webpage: www.irla.org. Thank you one and all for the continual support you give to the IRLA. I have a thought for Gunnar Stälsett, Bishop of Oslo who will perform the marriage ceremony of the Crown Prince of Norway: God bless you, dear Gunnar!

Blessings to you,

John Graz
Secretary-General