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Photo: © Jacques Berset, cath.ch

Photo: © Jacques Berset, cath.ch

Invoking the dignity of all persons as created in God’s image, and the classic notion of Christian freedom, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit urged acknowledgment of Christianity’s ambiguous role in the history of slavery and the need to address the underlying religious and cultural factors in slavery today.

Tveit spoke at a conference held 24-25 June in Geneva on the fight to end slavery, and reflected on both the accountability and responsibility of religious communities to ending slavery today.

“Even before it was officially established in 1948,” he reminded listeners, “the World Council of Churches’ first leaders were heavily involved in formulating the conventions for human rights. We continue to be committed to these universal principles, and we see them as genuine expressions of our faith.”

Yet, he said, “To address the problem of slavery, however, it is not enough to repeat the principles and the values we are committed to. We have to analyze how human interests can lead to such inhuman behaviour.”

“Therefore, we must also, as churches affirming human rights and human dignity today, pledge again our accountability before God and each other. Our teaching about sin is not primarily to make us feel guilty, but to end the tragic effect of sins for the victims of sin.”

Arguing that Christianity can be at once both self-critical and a positive force for justice and peace,  Tveit then asked: what is the role of the ecumenical movement in combating modern slavery?

Citing an array of WCC programmatic initiatives with member churches and ecumenical partners, Tveit said, "In ending slavery as in other arenas, [the WCC’s role] is to convene the fellowship of Christians in honest and loving encounter (beyond denominational or even interfaith barriers), to engender personal and ecclesial renewal, and to marshal Christians’ prophetic witness to the truth in love,” he said.

“As a privileged instrument of that movement, at the World Council of Churches we labor to unite Christians in solidarity and to help churches and their ecumenical partners and allies live up to their prophetic roles in action, advocacy, and service.”

Read the full text by the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit

Link to the conference