During his visit to the Vatican in September 2014, retired Israeli President, Shimon Peres, proposed a UN style organization called “United Religions” to counter religious extremism. Peres said that the UN is ill suited to handle today’s conflicts, since most conflicts have religious, not nationalistic undercurrents. Peres said the United Nations and its peacekeepers “do not have the force or the effectiveness of any one of the Pope’s homilies, which can draw half a million people just in St Peter’s Square alone.”
Saying the UN has run its course, Peres urged the pope to establish an organization of united religions as “the best way to fight terrorists who kill in the name of God.”
“What we need is an unquestionable moral authority who says out loud, ‘No. God doesn’t want this and doesn’t allow it,’” he added.
The Ten Commandments require the sacred observance of the seventh-day Sabbath. Imagine the retired president of the only seventh-day Sabbath-keeping nation on earth suggesting that the pope, the strongest advocate of global Sunday observance, establish a UN of Religions to promote peace. Yet, that is what happened. You can be sure that the peace effort will involve Sunday observance. Having Israel involved would make it a lot easier to establish a universal day of rest.
The ecumenical movement has advanced greatly in recent times. Perhaps a “UN of Religions” would be the capstone on the process. A UN of Religions would place the pope in a position to guide the nations more effectively and for them to look to him as the global moral voice.
Pope Francis has been a long-time supporter, promoter and organizer of ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue. He is a supporter of the global organization called the United Religions Initiative (URI), which is dedicated to promoting non-violent conflict resolution and cooperation between all religions, something that resonates with papal purposes. Similar to the Papacy, URI rejects evangelism and proselytizing as the work of fundamentalists. In 1997 they said, “We can’t afford fundamentalists in a world this small.” The pope himself said in an interview, “Proselytism is solemn nonsense. It makes no sense…”
Following this line of reasoning, efforts to teach Bible truths to anyone who is part of another denomination or religion would be off limits (except, of course, for those methods approved by Rome). The time will come; indeed it already has (at least in some circles), when explaining the prophecies, or what the Bible says about spiritual Babylon, let alone calling people to come out of Babylonian false religion, will be considered to be coercive proselytism.
Mr. Peres said Pope Francis would be the best person to head such a world body because “perhaps for the first time in history, the Holy Father is a leader who’s respected, not just by a lot of people, but also by different religions and their representatives… In fact, perhaps he is the only leader who is truly respected” in the world, said Mr. Peres.
Pope Francis promised the Vatican’s attention to Peres’ proposal to create a UN of Religions. A UN of Religions would place the control of the peace process squarely in the hands of Rome.
“And all the world wondered after the beast.” Revelation 13:3