These remarks were given at the first CAUSA conference with participants from North America. It was an exciting gathering with numerous guests and speakers. At the conclusion of three days, there were amazing reports testifying to the clarifying power of the CAUSA worldview. This was the beginning of the CAUSA movement in the United States which within a few short years spread to all continents of the world. This speech was given at the Intercontinental Hotel, Montego Bay, Jamaica on February 27, 1983.

Ambassador Chaves, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen: I sincerely welcome every one of you to the first North American seminar of CAUSA International here in Montego Bay, Jamaica. I hope all of you had a marvelous trip coming down here. I hope you also enjoyed Cuba from the sky. Fidel Castro did not seem to be happy. This is not the kind of seminar he would like to see at the doorstep of his country.

The tropical weather of the Caribbean has a very special appeal to all of us. As soon as we see the palm trees it engenders a special kind of excitement in our minds. For those dwelling in North America who just a few days ago experienced the blizzard of 1983, it is truly an escape. All in all, we are very happy to gather together here.

I am so deeply inspired and overwhelmed by this most enthusiastic participation from every different part of North America, including the representation from Canada. More than 180 distinguished leaders from every field have assembled in this auditorium. I guarantee that you will have a most wonderful, rewarding four days with us, not only because of the sunshine and great weather, but also because I believe that what we will discuss here is going to make these days the best investment of your life.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to Mr. Lynn Bouchey, the Conference Chairman of this seminar, and other staff members, Mr. Warren Richardson and Mr. Bob Sullivan, for their most outstanding contributions and successful organization of the seminar. It is very impressive to see the outstanding level of the participants who have gathered here. The mere fact that we have assembled such distinguished personalities in this one room already represents a great success for this seminar. We also welcome the most distinguished guest speakers for our luncheons and dinners, such as Amb. Chaves, Mr. Eldridge Cleaver, Mr. Terry Dolan, and Former Secretary Anderson. All in all we are going to have a wonderful seminar.

Now, let me tell you about CAUSA. CAUSA stands for the Confederation of Associations for the Unity of the Societies of the Americas. CAUSA International is an inter-American, nonprofit, nonpolitical, educational, and social-oriented organization. Its purpose is to promote the unity and the moral and material development of the nations of America.

CAUSA is a movement of the highest ideals. It is an ideological movement. What CAUSA is trying to do is to unite all religious people, as well as men of conscience, into one God-accepting force to fight against the God-denying forces such as Communism. CAUSA promotes a moral renaissance, as well as the renewal of Pan-American values. We believe that these are necessary to ensure the survival and prosperity of Western civilization.

There are actually all kinds of seminars and symposiums going on in our society. Even in this hotel they have booked solidly, one conference after another, ranging from a seminar on real estate sales techniques to "Secrets of Beauty Care for Women." This CAUSA seminar, however, is different. We want to discuss in our seminar very unique and fundamental questions of men and women and our world. We want to spend our four days here in an intense intellectual and spiritual exercise, considering solutions to the most basic and fundamental problems of our world. CAUSA is one movement which is trying to deal with the root cause of the world's problems and devise a solution there, instead of dealing with symptoms.

What is, then, the worst problem of our world today? We have so many serious problems in our society today, it is very difficult to determine which one is the worst. But I must say that the worst of all problems which mankind faces in the 20th century is the problem of Communism. Communism denies our way of life and threatens our values. Their goal is global conquest and so far they are winning, spreading like a cancer.

Christ came 2,000 years ago and began Christianity. With such a powerful message of truth and love, Christianity has now become the world's largest religion and has been received by nearly one-quarter of the world's population. But it took 2,000 years!

Communism, on the other hand, was only born in the last century, and yet it has come to enslave more people than are now Christians. A germ of thought entered into the mind of Karl Marx, and at the age of 30 this man, with the help of Frederick Engels, set forth the tenets of Communism in the Communist Manifesto. The year was 1848. That germ of thought was seized upon by Lenin, who brought about the first Communist country on the face of the earth. That was 1917, the time of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. That was only 66 years ago.

During this short span of little more than half a century, that thought has spread like a forest fire. In just a short 66 years, they have engulfed more than one and a half billion people. They have taken control of one nation after another, spreading over all six continents.

No country today, including the United States, is immune from the danger of Communism. During the four years of the Carter administration, at least 12 nations were either socialized or Communized. One of them was Nicaragua in Central America. After Cuba was taken by the Communists in 1959, the first Communist country in this hemisphere, there has not been one peaceful day. Grenada, Guyana, Nicaragua, and now Suriname are being Communized. El Salvador is burning. Honduras is in tension. Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Panama are shaken.

Communist strategists are proudly declaring that by the year 2000, the entire world will live under the "Communist Utopia." When Nikita Khrushchev threatened the West, saying, "We shall bury you," it might have seemed like an idle boast. Today, it looks like the Soviets are actually ahead of schedule. No one can deny that by the year 2000, a showdown between Communism and freedom shall inevitably be made, one way or another. The next few years shall be the most crucial time in human history, which will determine the destiny of the entire mankind. Will your children and mine live in freedom, or under a totalitarian system? No one knows. Yet, one thing is clear: The problem of Communism is not something that someone else should worry about. It is your problem, it is my problem. Our destiny and our children's well-being are at stake.

To defeat Communism, we must understand it. What is Communism, anyway? Where does its power come from? Communism is more than a political system, more than a social system, and more than an economic system. Communism is a philosophy, an ideology. The power of Communism comes from its philosophy and ideology. Once that philosophy and ideology reach the heart of men, it has the power to transform and control a man so totally that the individual becomes a weapon of Communism. Let me illustrate with an example which I experienced.

That last time I visited Argentina, I went to a military school in Mayo Campo, where terrorist weapons and tactics were displayed. I saw all kinds of incredible and cruel things, their weapons to kill, their techniques to blow up automobiles, etc. But then one officer showed me one big bottle containing large pills. I asked, "What kind of pills are these? Are they vitamins or what?" "No," the officer answered, "those are cyanide pills. Communist guerrillas keep these cyanide pills with them all the time. When the worst moment comes, if they are faced with capture, instead of surrendering they swallow these pills and kill themselves."

Here we see the power of ideology, even an evil ideology. Even though we know that Communism is based on lies and deception, once it reaches the innocent heart of a man, it will conquer that man's mind to the degree that he would give his life for the sake of Communism. That is the true power of Communism today. With this same power they won the Vietnam War. Vietnam was not a military defeat. It was an ideological defeat. When there is no clear will and purpose to fight for, $5 billion worth of military armaments would not do any good.

In order to combat Communism, we must fight with the same weapon which they use, ideology. An evil ideology must be subjugated by a superior ideology, fire for fire. There is no other way we can fight.

The free people say, "Well, today we have democracy." But democracy is not an ideology. Democracy is a system of government. "We have freedom," some say. Yet freedom is not an ideology. It is a goal of ideology. Even Karl Marx's ultimate goal was realization of freedom. It is the fruit we enjoy when true democracy is practiced. Then, what do we have to combat aggressive Communism?

Well, we have Christianity and the other religions of the world. These are God-defending forces which must be able to stop the God-denying forces of Communism. But then it is also a painful reality that today's religions demonstrate a lack of effectiveness in countering the spread of Communism. One Christian nation after another has fallen into the hands of Communism. Even the old-age Confucianist country of China had no power to stop the spread of Communism.

Today, clearly, the religious world is in crisis. Today's religion seems to be unable to control the confusion of the world and lead man's spirit forward. Why is the religious world in such a state of crisis? We can cite several causes for the collapse of the religious perspective, including the subtle intrusion of materialistic and atheistic thought into all levels of society, as well as the subversion of the religious world by the forces of Communism. But the greatest factor undermining the religious world today is the lack of a clear understanding of the ontology of God.

The essential factor in our religious world is that we are not sure about God. Yes! This is an honest answer. God has been progressively excluded from the life of modern-day man. Today, people are confused about the very purpose of God's creation. Thus man does not know what purpose to live for. From this fundamental weakness, the "God is dead" theology emerges and Christian Marxism has been rampant in all of Latin America. Man is trying to take God's place, because he feels that God is either "dead" or helpless.

Today the struggle between Communism and the free world is basically the struggle of ideas, a struggle of philosophy and of ideology. It is really boiling down to a God or no God battle.

If God does not exist, then Communism must be correct. Once God is removed, Communism does indeed offer the most complete explanation of human life. However, if God truly exists, then Communism must be wrong. Since two contradictory beliefs cannot both be true, then there must be a showdown. Who shall win? Communism? No. Truth shall win. God or no God: one of the two must be a lie!

Therefore, now more than ever in the 20th century the crucial problem is the ontological problem of God. Such fundamental questions are raised as, "Does God really exist?" "What is His purpose for creation?" "Did He have to create the universe?" "By what method did He create all things?" "If God is of utmost goodness, why does the survival of the fittest seem to prevail in our world?"

Once man's heart changes, everything changes. Yet, this change cannot be forced. Only through an awakening into the absolute value perspective can you change man's heart. It is a quiet revolution, but a fundamental and most powerful revolution. This is the revolution of man.

Communism has been trying to bring about a revolution, too, a violent one, but without genuine success. Since 1917, and despite 67 years of total effort, the Communist experiment has proven to be a bitter failure. According to the French magazine Le Figaro, it has cost over 150 million human lives in the name of revolution and the "workers' paradise." Many people today say, "That paradise is lost." But we know that nothing was lost. That paradise never came. On the contrary, the Soviet economy is dying and corruption is rampant.

In the last 20 years, the life expectancy for men in the Soviet Russia decreased from 67 to 62, whereas in the same period in the United States, the figure rose steadily to 70 years. In many respects, the living standard of Soviet Russia today is below the level of 1965. The astonishing truth is that 67 years of Communism has not only retarded the social progress of the Soviet nation, but has actually turned the clock backwards and taken that nation to the Dark Ages once again.

As a strategy for building a military empire, Communism is successful, but in terms of improving the human condition, Communism is a miserable failure. Why is this? There are two fundamental problems with Communism. One, their ideology is rigid and not scientific. It is based on lies and false assumptions. To maintain it requires the constant generation of more lies. Whenever there are differences between the doctrine and facts, doctrine is upheld. With this attitude, no progress can come.

Two, Communism misses the target in its diagnosis of social evil. It is not the free market system or any economic system that is evil, as the Communists believe, but rather it is a fundamental defect in man which is at fault. Communism destroys the system and sets up a new one, but the result is always worse. Why? A new system based on false assumptions and run by people with the same corrupt nature will not work.

A truly revolutionary change in society must come from the ground floor, the individual man. This is the root, and this is where the CAUSA worldview is addressing the problem.

I must confess at this point, however, I know that it is not easy for us to speak about God when we are discussing economic and political problems. In fact, in many circles it is not fashionable to speak about God at all.

Instead, there has been a tendency toward a materialistic humanistic interpretation of human problems and goals. Many intellectuals have come to believe that God can be excluded from consideration when dealing with the world's problems. Obviously, CAUSA does not agree with this tendency.

It is taught that the world became sinful because of the fall of mankind, but how did the creation of a perfect God become capable of falling? This is but one example of the numerous questions that are raised. Unless reasonable and consistent answers are available, today's intellectuals will not be willing to accept God as a reality.

CAUSA's worldview is a philosophy that precisely deals with the ontological problem of God. It is a God-centered ideology and it must do two things: First, it will totally expose the lies and deceptions of Communism. The exposure of Communist lies, however, is not enough. Therefore, second, it must present a clear counter-proposal or a true solution to Communism. This is what CAUSA's worldview is all about.

In this seminar, we shall deal with both of these fundamental concerns. For CAUSA, this is the beginning point of the solution to world problems. If, at the end of the seminar, you know there is God and you understand His purpose of creation, then there is nothing that we cannot accomplish. From the recognition of the Absolute Being, we come to the awareness of absolute value. From the absolute value perspective, we can make the decisions which will lead us to genuine progress.

Once you recognize absolute perspective, all confusion will disappear. Man's heart starts to change, and once man's heart changes, everything changes. Yet this change cannot be forced. Even with the power of the atomic bomb, man's heart cannot be forced to change. Only through an awakening into the concrete value perspective can you change man's heart. It is a quiet revolution, but a fundamental and most powerful revolution. That is the revolution of man.

Communism is trying to bring about a revolution, too, a violent one, but without success. Since 1917, and despite 66 years of total effort, the Communist experiment has proven to be a bitter failure. It has cost over 150 million human lives in the name of revolution and the "workers' paradise," but that paradise never came. On the contrary, the Soviet economy is dying and corruption and graft are rampant.

Why, then, is communism not working? There are two fundamental errors in Communism. One, their ideology is not scientific. It is based on a lie. Whenever there are differences between the ideology and reality, reality is denied and the ideology is upheld. With this attitude, no progress can come. Two, Communism missed the target in its diagnosis of social evils. It is not the system that is evil, as the Communists see it, but rather it is a fundamental defect in man which is faulty. Communism destroys the system and sets up a new one, but the result is the same or worse. Why? There is a new system run by the same corrupt people; it will not work. We are reminded of the sagacious words of Alexander Solzhynitsyn, "The only people who still believe in the Communist dream are, ironically, Western intellectuals." A truly revolutionary change in society must come from the ground floor, at its root-the individual man. This is where the CAUSA worldview is bringing the solution.

I must confess at this point, however, that it is not easy to speak about God in front of such distinguished intellectuals. It indeed takes extraordinary courage to talk about God seriously outside the pulpit. Today in intellectual society, it is not fashionable to speak about God.

While the Renaissance and the scientific revolution brought great benefit for mankind, for some people science and technology have come to take the place of God. As the usefulness and power of science and reason were first discovered, certain intellectuals felt they had been finally liberated from the inhibitions of religious belief, and they tended more and more toward a materialistic interpretation of human problems and goals. Many intellectuals have come to believe that we have arrived at a point where God can be excluded from consideration when dealing with the world's problems.

Obviously, we in CAUSA cannot agree with this tendency. During the next few days you will hear the word "God" frequently. We speak of God not from weakness, but from courage. When we speak of God, we do so not out of ritual, but out of clear reason and 20th-century scientific logic, and with integrity and heart.

Furthermore, when we speak of God we are not speaking of the God of any one religious denomination. We examine philosophically the ontology of God. We affirm that the God of Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, and the God of the Unification Church are one and the same. Our purpose, then, is not to enter into theological debate but instead to recognize the unifying factors of those religions which can lead us to a common ground in our relations with our fellow man. CAUSA tries to bring together all God-accepting forces, transcendent of denomination and religion, to make one unified force. This force will be able to oppose the ungodly ideology of Communism and work toward the establishment of a new, moral world.

So, now you see, you have come to a very interesting seminar. It is very unique, I am sure. There are thousands of seminars going on in our world, but you may not find anything like this anywhere else. If in these four days you feel that you are intellectually and spiritually enriched, then we have nothing more to ask.

Furthermore, in this seminar I would like for you to get the strong impression that the CAUSA movement puts its utmost emphasis on North and South America. Suppose all of Asia went into the hands of Communism; suppose all of Europe and Africa were to be overrun by Communism; suppose the Middle West and the Indian subcontinent were to become Communist; as long as North and South America were united together, awakened into a heightened spiritual realization, with a renewal of PanAmerican values, then God will use these two continents as His final bastion to launch an offensive and ultimately restore the entire world. It is, therefore, our view that a new spiritual awakening must come to the Americas which will generate a new value perspective and ignite a revolution of man. Therefore, an ideological offensive against Communism must begin in this hemisphere now. Pan-American values must be enhanced now. North and South dialogue, as well as cooperation, must be developed and advanced now.

It is for this reason that the CAUSA movement has begun in South and Central America. From 1980 to 1982, CAUSA's worldview, commonly known as "Unificationism," has inspired millions of Latin American people. This movement has been established in all parts of the Latin American region.

In the last two years, we have conducted numerous seminars, conferences, and lectures in over a dozen different countries. CAUSA has now become an active movement in at least 19 Latin American countries. In fact, this CAUSA seminar is the first English-speaking seminar we have ever held.

The latest seminar was held in the nation of Honduras, where a dire national emergency exists, and where the people and government alike are trying to survive in freedom and democracy, with the impending danger of Communist infiltration from neighboring Nicaragua. They have embraced CAUSA on a national level. Over 250 national leaders gathered in San Pedro Sula for a week-long CAUSA seminar, where they gained hope, confidence, and a clear ideological boost.

Ambassador Amilcar Santamaria, a prominent government official, as well as a distinguished journalist of Honduras wrote after the seminar:

After participating in the CAUSA seminar and having had the privilege of knowing the fundamentals of its doctrine, I am convinced that this movement is genuine hope for the people of Central America. Surrounded by underdevelopment, filled with corruption, destroyed by violence, and attacked by Soviet totalitarianism, our countries urgently need a worldview capable of mobilizing their moral resources to support liberty, justice, and peace.

The planning and vision of CAUSA offer such a worldview and also offer a serious, coherent, and scientific critique of the superstitions of Marxism-Leninism, making clear its deficiencies and offering ways of reform capable of rescuing its good intentions.

For all these reasons, I believe that CAUSA is a very valuable contribution to the future of our people, and that it is the duty of all men of good will to get involved in its activities, to achieve the rebirth of our families, of our countries, and eventually of the international community threatened by the false choices between Communist enslavement and nuclear holocaust.

I was very inspired by this testimony.

La Prensa Editorial

In addition, La Prensa, one of the leading newspapers in Honduras, wrote an editorial on February 16, 1983, entitled "A Worldview for Freedom." It is worthwhile to note that the editorial said as follows:

The first CAUSA International Conference in Honduras was held last week with more than 250 participants from various countries of this hemisphere... The characteristic of CAUSA is that it tackles the problem of Soviet totalitarianism on the global scale, carefully examining all its fallacies, systematically criticizing all its allegations, scrutinizing its ideological and propagandistic nuances, and after their exhaustive analysis, they offer a counterproposal of a global character.

CAUSA's worldview, known as "Unificationism," is a serious, consistent proposal of solid ethical and philosophical foundation that has aroused remarkable support and enthusiasm in numerous countries of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. So much so that in Japan, just to mention an example, it has inspired a radical change in the universities, who before had been in the hands of extreme leftists and today exhibit a vigorous renewed and honest democratic leadership.

It is important, too, to emphasize that CAUSA's proposal, although it has been termed conservative, does not imply a defense of the status quo. On the contrary, it offers an objective critique of the Western system and sets forth ways to correct its defects, based on democratic and peaceful means.

This CAUSA worldview is based on three problems: (1) There will not be a change in the world if the individual does not change. (2) In order to save our societies, the family must be strengthened and perfected. (3 ) The center of all change must be God, not as an abstract figure but rather as a guide for daily and concrete action.

Although these ideas have barely arrived in Honduras, there are certain elements connected directly or indirectly with totalitarianism who have tried to discredit them with slander and lies.

Our people, however, know that if the extreme left is against them, CAUSA must be a good cause. Because of this, we have the confidence that the CAUSA movement will flourish for the good of Honduras and that it will act as a motivating force for justice, liberty, and peace.

Ladies and gentlemen, at the end of these four days, if you feel exactly as this La Prensa editorial expressed, again, there is nothing more for me to ask, and I will term it as a total, unqualified success

Now, I have three recommendations for the seminar program:

1. I would like you to be open-minded for the next few days. Even if you might not agree with everything we say, be open-minded from the first to the last. We feel that our presentation is like a diamond which is not completely cut and polished. I am sure there are lots of rough edges. Therefore, even material we distribute to you is marked "DRAFT:" I do not want you to be disturbed by appearances on trivial technical matters. I don't want you to miss the diamond.

2. I would like you to participate. You are not just here to be an observer or a bystander. I want you to be an integral part of this seminar. Please get involved and participate as much as you can. By doing so, we all benefit.

3. I request that you do not miss the presentations or the lectures, because everything will be systematically organized. If you miss one, it is very difficult to catch up the following day, or the following hours. Please participate in every lecture. This will be a very spiritually rewarding and intellectually stimulating time. It is a mentally hardworking time, too; that is why we schedule a few hours of relaxation each afternoon.

Ladies and gentlemen, finally, to make a long story short, thank you for your coming and let us have an exciting next few days and let us make this seminar an historical new beginning for North America. God bless you. Thank you very much.

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