Der Ökumenische Rat der Kirchen, das ACT-Bündnis, der Lutherische Weltbund, die Weltgemeinschaft Reformierter Kirchen, die Anglikanische Kirchengemeinschaft, der Weltrat Methodistischer Kirchen, der Rat der Bischofskonferenzen in Lateinamerika und der Weltbund für Christliche Kommunikation haben in einem Schreiben vom 18. Mai den kolumbianischen Präsidenten Iván Duque nachdrücklich aufgefordert, die Spirale der Gewalt zu beenden, unter der die Zivilbevölkerung massiv leidet.
The World Council of Churches, ACT Alliance, Lutheran World Federation, World Communion of Reformed Churches, Anglican Communion, World Methodist Council, Latin American Episcopal Council and World Association for Christian Communication, in a letter sent 18 May, urged Colombian president Iván Duque Marquéz to stop the spiral of violence that is doing terrible harm to the civilian population.
In a 17 May letter to the Ecumenical Forum of the Churches in El Salvador, World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca and ACT Alliance general secretary Rudelmar Bueno de Faria wrote that they are following the political developments in El Salvador with great concern.
Ein internationales Online-Seminar mit dem Titel „Die brasilianische Tragödie: eine Gefahr für unser gemeinsames Haus?“ hat leitenden Kirchenverantwortlichen sowie Führungspersonen sozialer Gruppen und Menschenrechtsorganisationen gemeinsam mit prominenten Fachleuten während eines Online-Seminars vom 4.–6. Mai die Gelegenheit gegeben, darüber zu diskutieren, wie der Prozess der Dekonstruktion der Demokratie in Brasilien in den vergangenen Jahren das Land in mehrere Krisen gesteuert hat.
“It is with great concern that we are following political developments in El Salvador that undermine democracy and the rule of law in the country”, said Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches.
"We pray that the God of life will lead El Salvador to peace and justice”, added Sauca.
An international online seminar, “Brazilian Tragedy: A Risk to Our Common Home?” brought religious, social and human rights leaders together with prominent experts on 4-6 May to discuss how the process of deconstructing democracy in Brazil in recent years has led the country to multiple crises.
“Recognition of the Armenian Genocide is a matter of fundamental principle, an essential step towards healing, reconciliation and reparation, and – most importantly – a vital measure for the prevention of genocide today and in the future,” wrote Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in a letter to United States President Joe Biden on 21 April.
In a statement issued just after the verdict finding former Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of the murder of George Floyd, Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, reflected that no verdict can erase the pain of the Floyd family.
A House panel in the United States Congress advanced a decades-long effort to pay reparations to the descendants of slaves by approving legislation, commonly referred to as H.R. 40, on 15 April that would create a commission to study the issue. The “40” refers to the failed government effort to provide 40 acres (16 hectares) of land to newly freed slaves as the Civil War drew to a close.
It's the first time the House Judiciary Committee has acted on the legislation.
Speaking during a webinar hosted by the United Church of Christ, panelists from the World Council of Churches (WCC) underscored the importance of churches’ involvement in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Rev. Romi Bencke, general secretary of the National Council of Christian Churches of Brazil, believes that being an ecumenical leader means having the courage to ask the most difficult questions even in a polarized society.
Following the disappearance in Paraguay of a teenage girl and the killing of two 11-year-olds, World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca called for justice and an end to senseless, conflict-laden violence that tragically targets children.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is celebrating the life of Rev. Dr Paul A. Crow, who passed away on 23 January. An ordained minister with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), his lifelong passion was seeking Christian unity.
A special prayer service for those who work at the US Capitol offered an online space on 15 January in which to reflect, lament and hope for transformation in a troubled nation.
In a letter sent to World Council of Churches (WCC) member churches in the United States, WCC interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed the renewed and strengthened solidarity of the WCC amid the violence and lawlessness currently challenging the nation.
Während die anhaltenden Spannungen im Zusammenhang mit der Präsidentschaftswahl in den USA am 6. Januar in Washington, DC, in Gewalt gipfelten, hat der Interims-Generalsekretär des Ökumenischen Rates der Kirchen (ÖRK), Priester Prof. Dr. Ioan Sauca, seine „große und zunehmende Besorgnis“ über die jüngsten Entwicklungen dort zum Ausdruck gebracht.
As violence mounted in Washington, DC on 6 January amid the ongoing election-related tensions in the USA, World Council of Churches (WCC) interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed “grave and mounting concern” at the latest developments.
World Council of Churches (WCC) interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed solidarity with the Methodist Church of Peru, and all the Peruvian people faced with unprecedented challenges resulting from political crisis, violent upheaval, and corruption in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rev. Fr Dr Lawrence Iwuamadi is dean of the Ecumenical Institute, the graduate school which opened its academic year this week. Below, Iwuamadi reflects on the arrival of new students at the Ecumenical Institute during this remarkable time.
