Strong concerns were expressed by the WCC Executive Committee over the increasing number of internally displaced persons and the on-going conflict in South Sudan in statements adopted by the committee on 12 February, during its meeting in Bossey, Switzerland.
Le COE s'est dit particulièrement préoccupé par le nombre croissant de personnes déplacées ainsi que par le conflit que connaît actuellement le Soudan du Sud, dans des déclarations adoptées le 12 février par son Comité exécutif réuni en session à Bossey (Suisse).
The WCC Executive Committee, currently meeting in Switzerland, is working to translate the mandate of the WCC 10th Assembly into strategic plans and visible actions, focusing on the churches’ efforts toward a “pilgrimage for justice and peace”.
Church leaders from various denominations in South Sudan issued a letter Wednesday expressing sadness and condemnation concerning the recent violence in the country and are calling on the government to “take control of the situation and protect its citizens.”
The newly elected moderator of the WCC Central Committee has called on the government of South Sudan to have a “Mandela moment” as it confronts the aftermath of violence on Monday.
On 9 July 2011, South Sudan became the world’s newest nation. South Sudan today is estimated to be home to more than 11 million people and is geographically one of the larger countries in Africa. The prayer and theme of the WCC 10th Assembly is “God of life, lead us to justice and peace”. What does the prayer for justice and peace means for South Sudan today and in the future?
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.
South Sudan president Salva Kiir Mayardit emphasized the strong potential of churches in helping to develop their new country. His comments came during a conversation with the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, who on Friday, 25 April visited the capital city, Juba, where he met with staff and members of the Sudan Council of Churches (SCC).
In his meeting with the Sudanese minister Alfatih T. Abdallah, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit stressed the important role of Sudanese churches in rebuilding their nation after years of conflict, along with the assurance of their religious freedoms.
