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Two ecumenical councils in South Sudan and Sudan have now been established. The decision comes after South Sudan’s independence from Sudan in 2011 following a referendum mandated by the 2005 peace pact that ended Africa’s longest-running civil war.

Youth representing ecumenical networks have been vocal in addressing social, economic and environmental issues at the World Youth Day, a Roman Catholic Church event, which gathered more than a million participants in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The WCC general secretary has expressed sadness over several deaths and injuries caused by the train derailment on 24 July near Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

Along with other faith-based groups, the WCC has helped develop a declaration, launched by the United Nations refugee agency. It aims to strengthen protection for the world’s refugees as well as internally displaced and stateless people, who account for more than 40 million people in the world.

Youth representing the WCC addressed the theme of justice and peace at the 16th Baptist Youth World Conference in Singapore. Justice and peace remain a concern for the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), according to organizers of the conference, which brought together more than 2,000 young Baptists in Singapore.

Pentecostals and Charismatics are among the fastest growing Christian groups in the world. The question is to what extent the Pentecostals understand themselves as a church or a movement. This existential and ecclesiological issue remains ambiguous.

A statement issued at the WCC consultation calls on churches, governments and the United Nations to ensure universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene, while placing access to water prominently on their post-2015 agendas.

The July 2013 instalment of the quarterly journal The Ecumenical Review contemplates the future, and particularly the future of the WCC beyond its 10th Assembly. The assembly is to take place from 30 October to 8 November.

The WCC general secretary has expressed sorrow and solidarity with the Buddhist community over the recent bomb blasts at the Mahabodhi temple complex in Bodh Gaya, in the north Indian state of Bihar.

At the close of the 14th Assembly of the Conference of European Churches (CEC) in Budapest, Dame Mary Tanner hailed the emergence of a new constitution for the organization of 120 Anglican, Old Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant churches. She expressed the hope that this pattern of governance may provide “structures of grace” for churches and the world.

The WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit expressed deep admiration for the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada for holding their first-ever joint assembly in Ottawa, Canada.

The WCC general secretary has expressed “great sadness” over the death of Rev. Dr Prakai Nontawasee, former member of the WCC Central Committee and the Commission on Faith and Order in the 1970s and 1980s.

The WCC general secretary encouraged peaceful and inclusive transformation in political systems in Egypt, while expressing “deep concern” over the escalation of violence in the country.

Church leaders and government officials in Cuba have said that religious reforms introduced during the past two decades have improved religious policies in Cuba over earlier restrictive practices in place since 1959.

At its 14th Assembly, the Conference of European Churches was praised by the WCC general secretary for its contributions to European church unity and its “prevailing vision for justice and peace” in the region and beyond.

At the Human Rights Defenders Forum, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter called the abuse of women the “most pervasive and unaddressed human rights violation in the whole world.” This abuse, he stressed, is contrary to the basic premise of every religion, including Christianity.

The WCC general secretary called diakonia an expression of faith that “embodies the signs of God’s reign and makes it visible in all experiences of hope amidst turmoil, in actions that heal and nurture people and relationships.”

Faith can be a powerful ally in addressing issues of social justice, said Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. He called faith a bearer of unique perspectives on eradicating poverty, balancing amidst globalization, combating fundamentalism, racism, and developing religious tolerance during conflicts.