In an online conference organized by the World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations on 5 March, the World Council of Churches (WCC) was represented among inter-religious voices bringing their concerns and sense of solidarity in the lead-up to International Women’s Day, celebrated annually on 8 March.
The moment religious leaders from around 40 faith-based organisations worldwide agreed to keep defending the individual right to seek asylum during a gathering in Geneva marked a high point on the eve of the Global Refugee Forum, the world's biggest such international gathering.They met at a one-day event on 12 December at the World Council of Churches (WCC), chaired by an Armenian archbishop and a UN diplomat who was once a Turkish legislator.
His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew addressed an assembly of religious leaders gathered at the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Centre on 12 December—the day before the opening of the Global Refugee Forum.
In a message to the Global Refugee Forum released 12 December, faith-based leaders underscored their commitment to offering sanctuary for refugees as well defending their human rights.
50 young people from 24 countries have sent a message of hope to the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), which will be hosted by the United Arab Emirates at the end of 2023. The message was delivered during a special ceremony during the second edition of the Emerging Peacemakers Forum, held at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, Switzerland.
The Dicastery for Promoting Interreligious Dialogue is hosting a conference in Rome on the importance of women building a culture of interreligious encounter.
An interfaith breakfast held in conjunction with the 77th session of the UN General Assembly brought into focus the urgent need for policymakers to better address key gaps to end inequalities in HIV services for children.
As Loyce Maturu shared her story of growing up in Zimbabwe at an interfaith breakfast in New York City on 22 September, she held herself up as an example that faith communities really can make a difference for children who have HIV.
An interfaith panel discussion on climate, held 21 September, sent a clear message to the world’s governments: a social and spiritual transformation must underpin policies that care for the earth and the most vulnerable people living on it.
At a workshop held at the World Council of Churches 11th Assembly, participants expressed grave concerns over the fact that, although public health experts warned about the dangers of ignoring other epidemiological efforts at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries had to reshuffle critical medical resources, thereby preventing routine treatment of HIV.
As the World Council of Churches (WCC) Climate Working Group meets this month, the advisory body is looking forward to offering the fruits of its work for reflection and, most important, action at the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe. Below, Rev. Henrik Grape, senior advisor on Care for Creation, Sustainability, and Climate Justice, reflects on climate justice work in the lead-up to the assembly and beyond.
Dr Louk Andrianos, WCC consultant on the Care for Creation, Sustainability and Climate Justice, reflects below on his hopes that the World Council of Churches (WCC) 11th Assembly will present the world with a chance to reconcile with our whole creation.
Offering a churches’ perspective during a dialogue on humanitarian aid on 10 June, World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca spoke on the faith and spiritual foundations for helping one another.
World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed the revulsion of the global fellowship of churches at the murder of Deborah Yakubu, a second-year college student beaten to death and burnt by a group of her fellow students in Sokoto, northern Nigeria.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) and Religions for Peace will issue on 9 May a joint message on statelessness, “Belonging—Affirmations for Faith Leaders”.
The document is one of the most recent fruits of WCC work that has been ongoing for more than a decade around the issue of statelessness. It is currently available in English, French, Spanish and Arabic.
Following an 11 April statement of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem expressing grave concerns over announced police restrictions on Holy Fire Saturday, the World Council of Churches (WCC) strongly condemned such measures restricting access to places of worship as violations of religious freedom in the Holy Land.
A new publication from WCC, “Coexistence: Peace, Nature, Poverty, Terrorism, Values (Religious Perspectives)” by Anastasios, Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës, and All Albania, is now available in hard copy and as an eBook.
During a public lecture at the Ahlul Bayt International University in Iran, World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca reflected on how we can improve human relations in the post-COVID-19 era.
One hundred and thirty Jewish volunteers planted 400 olive trees last week in Palestinian villages, continuing their work even following at least one violent attack.
