(LifeSiteNews) — Left-wing Cardinal Blase Cupich is set to appear at a scandalous ecumenical event in Chicago this week. The conference is coordinated by a Wiccan priestess and features more than 6,000 representatives of various forms of pagan and non-Catholic sects.
The 2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions is being held at McCormack Place convention center from Tuesday, August 14 until Friday, August 18. Its theme is “A Call to Conscience: Defending Freedom and Human Rights.”
The Parliament of the World’s Religions is returning to Chicago after 30 years on Aug. 14. “Interreligious encounter is fundamental to our Catholic identity and is not an option. We are all enriched by engaging one another as we grow in our own faith”: https://t.co/F3zWtdOoez pic.twitter.com/XU2Faa76dQ
— Cardinal Cupich (@CardinalBCupich) August 4, 2023
Cupich will appear on a “luminary” panel alongside Presbyterian minister Jennifer Butler and Rashad Hussain, who serves in President Joe Biden’s State Department and who previously worked in the Obama administration.
United Nations Secretary General António Guterres as well as dissident Catholic Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi are also scheduled to address the conference.
Answer the Call to Conscience! Join us in defending freedom and human rights at the 2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions.
Learn how you can get involved at https://t.co/l1vJzJcGz5#interfaith #2023PoWR #freedom #humanrights pic.twitter.com/OF9KovHFEJ
— The Parliament of the World’s Religions (@InterfaithWorld) July 21, 2022
The event’s first meeting was held in 1893, also in Chicago. Cardinal John Gibbons of Baltimore controversially attended that gathering along with several other liberal U.S. clergy who later came to be associated with what then-Pope Leo XIII called “the heresy of Americanism.”
In 1895, two years after conservatives voiced their opposition to the meeting, Leo condemned the conference and forbade Catholics from attending future ones out of fear it would give the impression the Church viewed other religions to be true or good in themselves.
Phyllis Curott serves as the program chair for this year’s event. A self-described “Elder Witch” and author, Curott took a not so veiled swipe at former President Donald Trump, as well as at other politicians who refuse to go along with the Deep State agenda, at a press conference ahead of the gathering.
“This existential, expanding and global scourge [of authoritarianism] is manifesting in tyrants and strongmen who commit crimes against humanity, suppress essential freedoms, subvert democracies and murder the truth with lies,” she said.
“They are fostering hate and the resurgence of antisemitism and Islamophobia, misogyny and racism. They are attempting to misappropriate religion to justify the unjustifiable,” she added.
On her YouTube Channel, Currot has posted videos that explain her love for Tarot cards and show viewers how to cast spells.
In an article posted on the Chicago Archdiocese’s website, Cupich said that this year’s gathering is an opportunity for Catholics to “live out the Holy Father’s teaching that a core part of our identity as Catholics involves building friendship between members of different religious tradition.”
Social justice workshops are being held at the conference
On Tuesday, August 15, a “climate repentance ceremony” was conducted at the meeting.
Join @ElijahInt and @ThePeaceDept for a special Climate Repentance Ceremony today at #2023PoWR!
This ceremony is based on the 10 Principles for Climate Repentance, developed by the Elijah Interfaith Institute in response to COP27.#interfaith #climateaction #sustainability pic.twitter.com/Lh6oWcXRho
— The Parliament of the World’s Religions (@InterfaithWorld) August 15, 2023
Also on Tuesday, Yael Eisenstat, vice president of the left-wing Anti-Defamation League’s Center for Technology & Society, called for stricter policing of free speech on social media.
We need an “inclusive online” environment that will “amplify women and underrepresented voices,” she demanded
Today, ADL’s @YaelEisenstat spoke at @InterfaithWorld‘s Women’s Assembly on the need to create inclusive online spaces that amplify women and underrepresented voices. A healthier online ecosystem can both protect people and foster the exchange of ideas—we don’t need to choose… pic.twitter.com/9hnbT0ada7
— ADL (@ADL) August 15, 2023
So-called Dharma Masters from the New York-based Tzu Chi Buddhist Center participated in the conference’s opening ceremonies while a “Parade of Faiths” was held in downtown Chicago to kick off the gathering on Tuesday.
Read all about our recap of day 1 at @InterfaithWorld‘s 2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions: https://t.co/UwJNgqJ1Lo#ClimateAction #InterfaithVoices #GlobalEthic #Interfaith #ParliamentOfReligions #2023PoWR pic.twitter.com/h8hPMBTNhe
— Tzu Chi USA (@TzuChiUSA) August 15, 2023
Witness Tzu Chi at the forefront of the world’s biggest #interfaith conference in Chicago, IL on the opening day of the 2023 #ParliamentOfReligions: https://t.co/5158UxXazf #2023PoWR #TzuChiMidwest pic.twitter.com/GHlzNcrcs4
— Tzu Chi USA (@TzuChiUSA) August 16, 2023
The World Parliament of Religions is a global non-governmental organization affiliated with the U.N. Department of Public Information. Its board of trustees is composed of people of all religious backgrounds. It acts, more or less, as the spiritual arm of the United Nations in that its primary purpose is to promote the green agenda, wokeism, and other liberal policies.
The last time the Parliament of the World’s Religions met in Chicago was in 1993. Then-Chicago Archbishop Joseph Bernardin, also a notorious liberal like Cupich, spoke at the event.