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On Saturday in Charlottesville, one woman died and 19 others were injured when a man who, after rallying with white supremacist groups, rammed his car into a crowd. Earlier in the day, two law enforcement officers lost their lives when their helicopter crashed as they patrolled the building crowds.

As the recent developments of nuclear weapons and increased tensions between United States and North Korea leaders can bring the world to the brink of war, churches around the world are calling for bilateral dialogue, expressing their commitment to peace and nonviolent resolution.

En vista de que los recientes progresos en el desarrollo de las armas nucleares y el aumento de las tensiones entre Estados Unidos y Corea del Norte pueden llevar al mundo al borde de una guerra, las iglesias de todo el mundo llaman al diálogo bilateral y expresan su compromiso con la paz y la resolución no violenta de los conflictos.

For the sake of peace, church leaders in Jerusalem are calling to maintain the historical status quo on the historical designation allowing access to al-Aqsa Mosque and its courtyard, as well as other Holy Sites in the city.

En aras de la paz, los dirigentes de iglesias de Jerusalén hacen un llamamiento a mantener el statu quo sobre la histórica designación que permite el acceso a la mezquita de Al-Aqsa y su patio, así como a otros lugares sagrados de la ciudad.

Banning nuclear weapons is something like climbing a mountain. The summit of this mountain – agreement on a ban treaty – is now clearly in view at United Nations negotiations in New York.

Pope Francis and Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt have taken a significant ecumenical step by signing a common declaration that Roman Catholics and Copts may recognize each other’s baptisms. The agreement is, in the eyes of the World Council of Churches (WCC), a “sign of hope”.

Responding to overnight missile attacks on a Syrian air force base by U.S. forces, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit on 7 April urged all parties in the conflict to cease hostilities and commit to peaceful negotiations toward a transitional governance within the framework of international law.

The fifteenth of March 2017, marks the sixth year since the start of the Syrian war.
Lebanon, being a small Middle Eastern country facing constant political and national unity challenges with a population of approximately 450,000 Palestinian and Iraqi refugees, has been the shelter for more than 2 million registered Syrian refugees since 2011.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) today expressed grave concern about a new law passed on Monday by the Knesset which reportedly forbids granting entry visas to foreign nationals who call for economic, cultural or academic boycotts of either Israel or the Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. The ‘Entry to Israel Act (Denial of Visa to Non-Residents Who Knowingly Call for a Boycott on Israel)’ apparently makes no distinction between boycotting Israel proper and boycotting products of the settlements, which are widely considered illegal under international law.

El Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) expresó hoy su profunda preocupación por la nueva ley aprobada el lunes por la Knéset (Parlamento israelí), que según se informa prohíbe conceder visados de entrada a los ciudadanos extranjeros que llaman a boicots económicos, culturales o académicos de Israel o de los asentamientos israelíes en los territorios palestinos ocupados. La ley de entrada a Israel (“Denegación de Visados a los No Residentes que Llaman Deliberadamente al Boicot de Israel”) aparentemente no hace distinciones entre boicotear a Israel en el sentido estricto y boicotear los productos de los asentamientos, que en general se consideran ilegales según el derecho internacional.

The 54th meeting of the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) began today in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, marking its yearly regional focus on Africa. During the meeting CCIA members are discussing the commission’s previous work and its outcomes focusing on Middle East, as well as setting strategic directions for activities until 2021.

Expressing concern regarding recently announced US measures related to refugee admissions and entry into the US by seven Muslim-majority countries, the World Council of Churches (WCC), ACT Alliance (ACT), and The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) affirmed that faith calls all Christians to love and welcome the stranger, the refugee, the internally displaced person - “the other.”

Expresando su preocupación ante las medidas recientemente anunciadas por el gobierno estadounidense en relación con la admisión de refugiados y la entrada en EE. UU. de los ciudadanos de siete países de mayoría musulmana, el Consejo Mundial de Iglesias, ACT Alianza y la Federación Luterana Mundial afirman que nuestra fe nos insta a todos los cristianos, a amar y acoger al extranjero, al refugiado, al desplazado interno: al “otro”.

Father Emanuel Youkhana rues that, for the third Christmas in a row, the church bells will not ring in Mosul. He recounts that, around June 2014, the numerical religious minorities such as Yazidis and Christians around Iraq’s second biggest city began to face a horrific onslaught by the group calling itself IS (Islamic State), or Daesh in Arabic.

El padre Emanuel Youkhana lamenta que por tercera Navidad consecutiva, las campanas de las iglesias no sonarán en Mosul. Cuenta que alrededor de junio de 2014, las minorías religiosas en términos numéricos, como los yazidíes y los cristianos, en torno a la segunda ciudad más grande de Irak comenzaron a afrontar el horrendo ataque del grupo autodenominado Estado Islámico (EI) o Daesh en árabe.

Analyzing efforts to protect religious communities and groups and build peace in Syria and Iraq, the WCC and Norwegian Church Aid presented a joint study on protection needs of religious and ethnic minorities in Syria and Iraq. The findings were announced on 12 December to the media and public at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Analizando los esfuerzos para proteger a las minorías religiosas y construir la paz en Siria e Irak, el Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) y la Ayuda de la Iglesia Noruega (AIN) presentaron un estudio conjunto sobre las necesidades de protección de las minorías étnicas y religiosas en ambos países. Las conclusiones de este último fueron anunciadas el 12 de diciembre al público y los medios de comunicación en el Palacio de las Naciones Unidas de Ginebra.

If we do not adjust aid better to the needs of the minorities in Syria and northern Iraq, we run the risk of building walls instead of bridges. As the populations of Syria and Iraq feel the toll of armed conflicts in their countries, the World Council of Churches and Norwegian Church Aid are now releasing a unique joint study, “Protection needs of minorities from Syria and Iraq,” today, 28 November, in Oslo, Norway.

Women walk slowly around in their sanctuary at Lalesh. Some have their children with them. They have been collected from the refugee camp to go to the Yazidis’ holy place, in the mountains of northern Iraq, some distance from Dohuk. All are quiet to begin with, and everyone makes sure not to tread on the doorstep to the temple.