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Bishop Brian Farrell, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, focused on the recent meeting in Rome,“Faith and Science: Towards COP26.” Many international scholars and Christian leaders, including WCC acting general secretary Rev. Dr Ioan Sauca and Pope Francis, as well as representatives of other religions, met to draw international attention to the climate crisis and the need to promote a sustainable culture of life.
Farrell also spoke of the meeting held in the Vatican on “Religions and Education: Towards a Global Compact on Education.” Representatives of different churches and religions of the world dialogued together with Pope Francis about the main educational challenges and invited the institutions of the world to put education at the very centre of the international agenda.
Rev. Dr Odair Pedroso Mateus, WCC interim deputy general secretary, highlighted a recent WCC consultation on the teaching of ecumenism in the context of the global church today, marked by Pentecostal and evangelical movements, in particular in the southern hemisphere.
Mateus also discussed preparations for the WCC 11th Assembly to be held in Karlsruhe, Germany, in 2022, and he also updated participants on the work of the WCC Faith and Order Commission that has been harvesting the results of the work of the current mandate approaching its term by publishing studies on ecclesiology and moral discernment in the churches. In addition, he spoke about the series of WCC webinars dedicated to ecclesiology, ethics and bilateral dialogues.
The Joint Working Group also discussed three documents in the final phase of preparation: the final report from the current mandate, and two studies with recommendations to the churches on “Peacebuilding in Situations of Conflict” and “Migrants and Refugees—Ecumenical Challenges and Opportunities.”
