Prominent ecumenists have declared that the Millennium World Peace Summit of about 1,000 religious leaders, held in New York at the end of August, may well have a good result. But they also criticized the event as too cumbersome and too vague.Referring to interfaith dialogue in general, S. Wesley Ariarajah, a Sri Lankan theologian, said of the New York meeting: "The inter-religious program is a 100-year process—we are sowing seeds." Dr Ariarajah is professor of Ecumenical Theology at Drew University and a former deputy general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC).In an interview with ENI, Professor Ariarajah was philosophical about some of the unwieldiness of the August 28 to 31 meeting, which was criticized by several high-profile participants, including Dr Konrad Raiser, general secretary of the WCC, for an overall lack of focus and depth.The meeting, part of which was held at the United Nations headquarters, brought to New York representatives of a wide range of religious faiths and traditions. The religious leaders signed a formal "Commitment to Global Peace"--a pledge to, among other things, respect other religious traditions, condemn religious violence, and work for more equality between women and men.Left unsettled, however, was how the religious community would continue working with the UN, which did not formally sponsor the summit. Though the faith leaders resolved to create a religious advisory council for the UN, it was not clear at the end of the conference how the group would work or even be formed. A steering committee will now help establish the panel.Professor Ariarajah told ENI that the historic summit had a symbolic value that should not be minimized. The UN, he said, was now likely to pay attention ...