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Cardinal Kurt Koch of the Roman Catholic Church, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, has granted an interview to WCC News. The conversation took place at the Global Christian Forum in Tirana, Albania where 150 high level leaders and representatives of various church traditions from more than 60 countries gathered to listen and learn from one another and to stand in solidarity with churches and Christians experiencing discrimination and persecution in the world today.

Today 35 bishops and church leaders from 20 countries gathered in Munich, Germany to discuss the refugee situation and the role of the churches in Europe.

Following the burning and demolition of church buildings and the flight of many Christians from their villages in Indonesia, the WCC general secretary has expressed the world fellowship’s support of religious liberty and its solidarity with Indonesian believers as churches assist displaced people and work toward future peace.

In a recent statement, religious leaders called for an ambitious climate agreement, reminding all governments to commit to emission cuts and climate risk reduction. They promised to continue working for climate justice, including divestment from fossil energy.

Interview with the WCC general secretary, who is currently in Brasilia, about violence committed in the name of religion, human rights and climate justice in Brazil.

The vision of building a better world for children where they can be protected from violence and sexual abuse in families, schools and communities was strongly affirmed by representatives of both religious and secular organizations in a forum held in Geneva, Switzerland.

Joined in prayer, Christian churches around the world will again observe the ecumenical “Time for Creation” (1 September to 4 October), this year bolstered by Pope Francis’s recent proclamation of 1 September as the “World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation.”

The re-opening of the Church of Panagia (Virgin Mary) Galakdodrofousas in Palekythro, Cyprus, after 41 years was hailed by the WCC as an important sign of peace and reconciliation.

A statement calling for a binding agreement on climate crisis, and a call for two degrees rise in temperature, the internationally-agreed target for limiting global warming, was presented to the French President Francois Hollande by representatives of the Conference of Religious Leaders of France on 1 July at the Elysée Palace in Paris, France.

Expressing shock at the killings in Kuwait, Tunisia and France that took place on 26 June, the WCC acting general secretary Georges Lemopoulos said, “I grieve with those who have lost loved ones, and those who have been injured as a result of these appalling acts, which have marred the month of Ramadan, sacred to Muslims everywhere.”

“The WCC is grateful for new momentum in collective efforts to manifest our common faith in God the creator and our commitment to common service,” said the WCC general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, as he spoke at the 50th anniversary gathering of a joint WCC-Roman Catholic group.

Meeting from 17 to 24 June, the newly reconstituted Commission on Faith and Order of the WCC has begun to define its principal trajectories for ecumenical study and common activity from 2015 until the next WCC Assembly in 2020.

To promote strong measures against climate change, the WCC and the Geneva Interfaith Forum on Climate Change, Environment and Human Rights organized a side event to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

The World Council of Churches welcomed Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si'”, released on June 18, which highlights what churches and ecumenical organizations have been doing for decades on caring for the earth and climate justice issues.

Should robots make life and death decisions? Religious leaders are asked to tell governments “Never”.

Outcomes, disappointments, as well as encouraging signs from the United Nations Climate Change Conference and the Peoples Summit held late last year in Lima, Peru, were discussed at length by representatives of faith communities.

The WCC has expressed deep shock over the attacks by extremist group Boko Haram in Nigeria, which is said to have cost the lives of more than 2,000 people, including children used in suicide bomb attacks.

Reacting to news of the deaths of twelve persons in an armed attack on the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches Georges Lemopoulos said: "The fatal attack that has taken place today in Paris against the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo is an attack on human life, human dignity and the human rights of all."

A declaration issued on 2 December by religious leaders calling for the eradication of slavery has prompted an expression of appreciation from the WCC. The declaration, issued at the Vatican, brings together signatories from the Catholic and two WCC member churches: Anglican and Orthodox, with Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim leaders who signed a joint declaration of commitment against modern slavery.

Participants in a recent WCC consultation in Myanmar have stressed the need to equip churches and ecumenical organizations to build peace, human security and human dignity in order to move beyond conflicts, towards a world of peace.