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In a message from the World Council of Churches (WCC) to its member churches in the Netherlands, sincere condolences were conveyed to the families of some 193 Dutch passengers who lost their lives in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine last week.
“May the peace of Christ be among you, and may the hope of the resurrection to eternal life bring you comfort,” said Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri, the WCC associate general secretary for Public Witness and Diakonia, in an official letter sent to the Dutch churches on 21 July.
“We are particularly saddened that even now some of the bodies have yet to be recovered and those that have been recovered have not yet been returned to their families,” she said.
Phiri went on to stress the urgency of “calling on all parties to treat the crash site with respect, and the need to handle the bodies with dignity”.
She mentioned the calls for solidarity from the Dutch churches, encouraging the ecumenical family and the Russian churches to do all they can – so that “finding and identifying of the bodies can take place as quickly as possible” and a “proper investigation into the crash may be conducted.”
“We are reminded of our call to seek justice and righteousness; it is imperative for strengthening our faith. This call demands our concern for all those who are deprived of their inherent and inalienable rights and dignity, of fullness of life and equal justice,” Phiri concluded.
Full text of the WCC associate general secretary’s letter to the Dutch churches
