Federation for World Peace

Honored chairman, distinguished former and current heads of state, ladies and gentlemen:

At the opening of the Third World Peace Conference today, I would like to express my deepest respect to you for coming to this historic event. It is a pleasure to take this opportunity to share my beliefs regarding true world peace.

Providential plan for Latin America

Matters of world peace are of greater concern than ever before. I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to you who, out of your desire to realize world peace, have traveled from afar and brought into being this magnificent conference.

Recognizing that God has a providential plan for Latin America, I undertook an ambitious speaking tour of 23 nations including the Southern Cone, the Andean Pact nations, the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico. In each nation I visited, I shared my views with key leaders. In eight of the nations I had the opportunity to meet personally with the president and discuss matters related to world peace. The subject of the public speech which I delivered in each country was "The True Family and I."

While traveling from east to west, and from north to south I prayed and reflected upon this special part of the world. I thought deeply about what the thirty nations comprising Latin America must do to achieve true peace and build an ideal society.

Clearly Latin America has stunning, and abundant, potential. There are seemingly unlimited natural resources, and the human energies have hardly begun to be tapped. Latin America is a rich, peaceful, natural paradise of grandiose mountains and virgin lands. The mountains and jungles hearken back to the original state of creation, the Garden of Eden. I contemplated the glory-filled days which await Latin America in the 21st century. At every opportunity I gave the same counsel to the leaders I met there. I told them, "Please do not follow the footsteps of the developed nations. Do not blindly repeat the environmental errors committed by the wealthy countries in their rush to harness energies in the name of progress."

Why did I give such advice? I see a grim future for these so-called developed nations. Frankly, despite their wealth, they do not possess the happiness and satisfaction that humanity seeks.

In the twenty-first century we will return to the original world

Let us consider for a moment the case of the United States. For the past 25 years, I have done my utmost to establish the basis for world peace in that nation that I love dearly.

I suffered persecution at America's hands even as I was trying to guide her in the right direction, but my hope in that great nation and belief in its providential destiny has never wavered.

In the 1960s when I first visited "the land of opportunity," it seemed that the whole world wanted to be like the United States. We deeply admired the life depicted on American television and cinema. On Sundays, the rich and moving sound of church hymns echoed throughout the land. The comic character, Superman, the defender of "truth, justice and the American way" was a symbol of America's righteous spirit. Her city streets were orderly, spotless and beautiful. In those days, the whole world looked to America with an envious eye.

When we look at America today, what do we see? We see a nation in decay. Difficult an seemingly insoluble problems are mounting. Moral corruption and rising violent crime are most disturbing. Murder, drugs, divorce, child abuse, kidnapping and teenage pregnancy all characterize this country. As one who loves that great nation with all my heart, I am deeply pained by what I see.

Yet the phenomenon of rising corruption is not limited to the United States. As the twentieth century draws to a close, we see all the developed nations struggling with these same problems. What is the reason? It is because the developed countries of the world have fallen into a chasm of materialism and selfish nationalism.

When the mind and spirit are obsessed with the search for material goals, the true human essence becomes a slave to selfish desire. It results in the undermining of true love. Cities are lined with skyscrapers and farmlands yield record crops, but the human heart is parched and arid like a desert. Human lives become empty because an oasis of true love cannot be found amid all this material bounty. In a vicious cycle, the absence of true love serves as a breeding ground for increasing selfishness. One of the most serious victims of selfishness is the creation-Mother Earth.

One of the themes of this peace conference is the restoration of the environment. We are abusing many of our resources, including our water supply. Even the atmosphere that protects our planet is affected by the misuse of natural resources. If this trend continues, the so-called benefits of materialistic civilization will lead to the earth’s self- destruction.

The most serious damage of all, however, is the destruction of the family as a basic building block for the nation. The family is the cell of society. If each of the tens of trillions of cells in our body is healthy, then the body is likewise healthy. Conversely, if the cells are weakened and destroyed, then the whole body will weaken and eventually stop functioning. Similarly, destruction of the true family system foretells the destruction of all humankind. Our society is charging toward a destination directly opposite to what was originally designed and created by God.

The twenty-first century is inevitably a time to return to the original world of God’s Will. A civilization placing the spirit and mind as subject partner is coming. The twenty-first century is only five years away. It is my sincere wish that the developing countries not follow in the footsteps of the so-called developed countries. Instead, they ought to use the developed countries’ experience as a lesson, and move directly into the world where spirit and mind are in control. Do not fall into a pit of nationalism and materialism. This is the message that I want to share with you in our time together today.

The Blessing of 360,000 couples is a celebration of world peace

We have reached a time when the world has no alternative but to change. In religious terms, we can say that we have reached “the Last Days” of humankind. However, the Last Days I refer to does not mean darkness and destruction. From God the Creator’s point of view, the Last Days are the end of the false world, the end of the fallen world. They will be followed immediately by the founding of the true world, the original world of God’s creation. Therefore, the Last Days are what we all wish and hope for.

Then, how can we achieve this historic transition from a materialistic civilization to a spiritual civilization? The transition begins with the emergence of God’s truth. Truth is called light. The dawn’s morning light is the power that liberates the night. That sun of historical transition is rising towards the highest point in the sky. This is what I have proclaimed as the Unification Principle and the great principle of true love.

Upon receiving a call from God, I endeavored to deeply understand the great principle of the universe that had been hidden from the beginning of human history. In my discovery, I realized that the truth humankind has been yearning for throughout history is this very principle, upon which we can return to true love and realize true world peace. A physician needs to diagnose the cause of an illness in order to cure the patient. In the same way, the Principle clearly identifies why today’s human society fell into misery. It explains the course of the Fall of humankind, the event that led to the unprincipled world that we struggle with every day.

Once the cause is determined, the cure can be applied. For the past forty years, I have traveled the globe with this cure. I have devoted myself to revealing the cure clearly to the world.

I want to explain some of these great principles. My explanation will be only skin-deep, as it is impossible to grasp the depth of the philosophical implications in a short period of time. One needs to study the Unification Principle sincerely with time and prayer, based on knowing that, if we do indeed live for eternity, it is clear that we need to reorganize our priorities.

The first great principle is that God is alive, and that God is the Parent of humankind. The relationship between God and humanity is that of Parent and child. This is the first truth that God revealed to me. Secondly, God’s original nature is true love, and God created all things and human beings to realize God’s true love. Human beings are therefore the object partners of God. God wants to unconditionally pour unlimited true love into the hearts of His children.

Thirdly, God, the invisible Parent, established True Parents as God’s substantial expression on the earth. God tries to save the world through the True Parents. By uniting with the ideals of the True Parents and regaining true love, true life and true lineage, human beings can be eternally restored.

Amazingly, we are now living in the era of True Parents. There has never been and will never again be a time of this magnitude of blessing in the history of human existence. This enables us to be called the lucky generation born with heavenly fortune.

Two days from now, on August 25, Mrs. Moon and I will officiate at an international wedding ceremony for 360,000 couples here in Seoul.

I consider this ceremony the authentic path to world peace. As I stated, the reason the world is not at peace today lies in the breakdown of the true family structure. The true family structure begins by unity with the true love of God.

This holy wedding ceremony will be simultaneously conducted in one hundred and sixty nations via satellite. It is a ceremony that will link human beings vertically with the True Parents, the substantial being of God, the invisible Parent. This ceremony affirms the participants as true brothers and sisters in front of God and True Parents, transcending territorial boundaries, races and religions.

This wedding is a great transformation ceremony for humanity. It restores God’s true love, true life and true blood lineage, which were lost due to the Fall of the first human ancestors, Adam and Eve. This is a moment of great excitement in which human beings, who have been suffering under the reign and dominion of Satan for six thousand biblical years, will be set free and liberated for the first time. It is a ceremony of great joy, where we will see the shackles break loose. Humankind will sing hosanna as we return to the liberated heaven and earth of God’s true love. This ceremony is possible at this time because of the appearance and manifestation of the True Parents.

True peace signifies returning to the originally created world

Ladies and gentlemen, the Blessing is also the ceremony through which a man and woman, bound in marriage before God, can bow purity and fidelity to each other. The breakdown of the family is a result of the misuse of love. Since immoral love was the cause of the fall of our ancestors, then we who are their descendants have been the unwitting victims of the same immoral, promiscuous love. It is a worldwide phenomenon manifested in free sex, homosexuality and decadent relationships. I think it is no exaggeration to say that today's promiscuity resembles the animal world.

The time has come for humankind to return to the world of pure unselfish love by completely liberating fallen humankind from its false ancestors, and the ones called to liberate this world are the True Parents.

In the blessing, the bride pledges unblemished love to her bridegroom, recognizing him as God's son, representative of all men of the world. The bridegroom pledges his absolute, faithful love to his bride, accepting her as God's daughter, representative of all women of the world.

Could a dreadful disease like AIDS penetrate a marriage in which the couple is united in this way? AIDS is a test of the last days to measure the purity and fidelity of humankind. Modern society tries to prevent AIDS through the use of condoms. It attempts to cure it through developing new medicines, but it is making these attempts in ignorance of the original ideal of God.

AIDS is not a problem that can be solved through purely scientific means. Its ultimate solution lies in the restoration of morality and restoration of true love. A research institute at Harvard University recently issued a report projecting that by the year 2010, AIDS will have infected about one billion people! Such staggering numbers threaten the very existence of the human race.

AIDS can only be eradicated when we return to the true love desired by God. Simply speaking, that is the pure and faithful family love. When I speak of fidelity, I do not mean the traditional fidelity applied only to women. I refer to the purity and fidelity of both men and women, based on God's ideal of true monogamous love. This principle allows men and women to protect the sanctity and holiness of the act of love by not engaging in premarital or extramarital relations. After being blessed with their ideal counterpart, husband and wife love one another without limit as subject and object.

Today, I want to stress purity and fidelity even more for men than for women. It is not an overstatement to say that the damage caused by men who indulge in uncontrolled lust has almost destroyed humankind's chances for happiness.

Human will power alone is not enough in today's decadent world to return to the original order of true love as desired by God. We may only return through the power of our Heavenly Father, and His power is manifested by the True Parents on earth.

A new order based on true love cannot be established without a revolutionary process. The True Parents of humankind have come to ignite the peaceful revolution of true love. The International Holy Wedding is fanning the flames of the revolution of true love and providing the opportunity for the re-creation or restoration of the world. The blessing ceremony of August 25 will embrace 360,000 couples. When this number increases to 3,600,000 couples, to 36 million couples, to 360 million couples, and to 3.6 billion couples, AIDS will be eradicated from human society. The world of pure love where God and man become one will be realized. This is not just a dream. The fulfillment of God's providence for the Kingdom of Heaven on earth is destined to come about because it is not the work of man alone, but the work of God.

Modern technology has brought the world in touch a global village and humankind is the global family living in this village.

Today, twentieth century technology has reduced the world to the size of a small global village. Human beings are the global family living in this global village. Nationalism, racism and religious bigotry should never have existed, only the ideal world of God and human beings as one body of love. I want to tell you that true world peace is to return to the original world of God’s creation.

Respected ladies and gentlemen, and participants in the third World Peace Conference, I sincerely wish for you to serve as apostles of true peace. I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to you, precious colleagues and contributors to world peace.

May God abundantly bless you and your families.