Calvin Synod Herald, 1978 (78. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1978-01-01 / 1-2. szám
REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA 5 HUMAN RIGHTS WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON RUMANIA, PHILIPPINES AND SOUTH KOREA Ms. Skinner moved a “Resolution on Human Rights with Special Emphasis on Rumania, Philippines and South Korea.” This resolution combines Human Rights and Overtures on Rumania, South Korea and Philippines and does not appear in the Advance Materials. It was seconded and it was 77-GS-68 VOTED: The Eleventh General Synod adopts the “Resolution on Human Rights with Special Emphasis on Rumania, Philippines and South Korea. A RESOLUTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON RUMANIA, PHILIPPINES AND SOUTH KOREA (combining Resolution on Human Rights and overtures on Rumania, South Korea and Philippines) THEOLOGICAL PROLOGUE Respect for Human rights lies at the very heart of our Christian Faith. All persons are created in the image of God and are endowed with the freedom to mirror in their relationship to God, neighbor, nature, and society the divine intention for a harmony of love, justice and peace. In Jesus of Nazareth, God appeared among us as a fellow-human being to live, die and rise again as One totally for others. We regard his life as God’s supreme demonstration for us of what it means to be human. We also discern in it the inestimable dignity of our common humanity as God’s favored dwelling place. dialogue?” — The answer of State Secretary Imre Miklós was this: “I certainly would. Cooperating between the communists and the believers of the various churches is progressively assuming world-wide dimensions, for this is a historical necessity and possibility. The Hungarian experiences of the past decades also prove that an alliance between the religious forces and political reaction is by no means an inexorable law. In our days those circles are experimenting with instigating conflicts between socialism and religiosity that are most sharply assailing the socialist countries. I am convinced that, only by progressing on the road of multiple contacts, cooperation and joint actions, the believing masses may become active supporters of the struggle for social progress and peace.” HCP, Sept. 15, 1977 His death was no accident. It was the price he paid for defending the rights of the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, the ones who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those persecuted for the sake of justice. So great was his regard for the sanctity of all human life that he died with words of forgiveness for his executioners. His resurrection is the invincible power of God’s love to secure the abundant life intended for everyone and to defeat every evil power ranged against it, and the violation of any right that keeps any human being from the abundant life promised and fulfilled in Jesus Christ is, therefore, not just a crime against humanity but defiance against God. NOW THEREFORE, the Eleventh General Synod calls to attention and action three specific and several general areas of concern: RUMANIA WHEREAS curtailment of fundamental human rights and cultural freedoms persists in the Socialist Republic of Rumania with special emphasis upon national minorities, particularly in the fields of education, labor policy, bilingualism and religious liberty despite the signing of international agreements which reaffirm the provision of Article 27 of the United Nations Covenant of Civil and Political Rights that “in those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right in community with other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practce their own religion, or to use their own language”; and WHEREAS the Rumanian State, through its organ the Ministry of Cults, exercises a policy of total interference in ecclesiastical matters regardless of their administrative, social or theological nature, which harms especially the minority populations — among them 2.5 million Hungarians and 400,000 Saxon-Germans in Transylvania, a land which was first in Europe to proclaim religious liberty — as the church is the only remaining institution which could fulfill the socio-cultural needs of minorities and permit them to nurture their ethnic heritage. THE UNITED STATES WHEREAS, we confess our own failure to achieve a society which fully protects the human rights of all our citizens, our own lack of diligence and commitment to correct the systemic violation of rights in some of our laws and institutions, our own deafness to the anguished cries for help by those whose rights are violated because they hold unpopular views, pursue unconventional life-styles, belong to powerless minority groups or are deprived of resources with which to protect themselves, and WHEREAS, on December 10, 1948, the United Nations General Assembly speaking in many tongues and out of many faith traditions adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to be used “as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and nations,” a standard highly consonant with our faith and the basis for world wide solidarity, and WHEREAS, the United Nations has developed international covenants for the implementation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Optional Control to the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which are now being considered for signature, ratification or accession by various member nations, and
