Aa the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity opened on 18 January, the World Council of Churches staff and partners gathered in a spirit of unity to “Do good; seek justice,” the theme of this year’s special week.
Rev. Dr Curtiss Paul DeYoung, co-chief executive officer of the Minnesota Council of Churches, helped convene the team of authors for this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity materials. Below, he reflects on the challenges and hopes the team brought to the table as they composed the text.
El secretario general del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias, el Rev. Prof. Dr. Jerry Pillay, denunció los continuos ataques contra la población civil y las infraestructuras civiles en la guerra ilegal que Rusia mantiene contra el pueblo de Ucrania.
World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay denounced continuing attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Russia’s ongoing illegal war against the people of Ukraine.
World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed grave concern over continued recurrent attacks by Russian forces on energy facilities and other civilian infrastructure and areas in Ukraine, including most recently a maternity unit in which a newborn baby was killed.
El Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) acogió con satisfacción la noticia de que el Premio Nobel de la Paz 2022 ha sido concedido al defensor bielorruso encarcelado, Ales Bialiatski; a la organización rusa de derechos humanos, Memorial; y al Centro Ucraniano para las Libertades Civiles.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) welcomed the news that the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to jailed Belarusian advocate Ales Bialiatski, Russian human rights organization Memorial, and the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties.
Lamentando la guerra ilegal e injustificable “infligida al pueblo y al Estado soberano de Ucrania”, el Comité Central del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias, denunció “los terribles y crecientes niveles de muerte, destrucción y desplazamientos forzosos; la destrucción de las relaciones entre los pueblos de la región y la intensificación —como nunca antes— del antagonismo profundamente arraigado entre ellos; la confrontación en aumento a nivel mundial; el mayor riesgo de hambruna en las regiones del mundo que sufren de inseguridad alimentaria; las dificultades económicas y el agravamiento de la inestabilidad social y política a nivel mundial”.
Deploring the illegal and unjustifiable war “inflicted on the people and sovereign state of Ukraine” the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee lamented “the awful and continuing toll of deaths, destruction and displacement, of destroyed relationships and ever more deeply entrenched antagonism between the people of the region, of escalating confrontation globally, of increased famine risk in food insecure regions of the world, of economic hardship and heightened social and political instability in many countries.”
Hay una razón por la que la teóloga ortodoxa y abogada de derechos humanos Natallia Vasilevich prefiere hablar del papel de las personas cristianas en lugar del de las iglesias en la sociedad bielorrusa.
There’s a reason why Orthodox theologian and human rights lawyer Natallia Vasilevich prefers to speak of the role of Christians rather than the role of churches in Belarusian society.
In a recent visit to the United States, a group of four laureates of the “National Human Rights Award in Colombia” engaged in meetings in Washington and New York City with government officials, diplomats, and United Nations (UN) representatives. They spoke of the deterioration of the peace process in the country and the importance of international solidarity.
El secretario general en funciones del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias, el Rev. Dr. Ioan Sauca, ante los informes que dan indicios más contundentes de graves violaciones del derecho internacional en Ucrania, ha expresado su repulsa ante las atrocidades denunciadas, y ha pedido una investigación completa.
World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, upon hearing reports that give stronger indications of grave violations of international law in Ukraine, expressed abhorrence at these reported atrocities, and called for full investigation.
El Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) organizó el 30 de marzo en el Instituto Ecuménico de Bossey una mesa redonda ecuménica sobre la situación en Ucrania.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) convened an ecumenical roundtable consultation on the situation in Ukraine, which took place 30 March at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute.
En una carta dirigida al patriarca Kirill de Moscú el 2 de marzo, el secretario general en funciones del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias, Rev. Prof. Dr. Ioan Sauca, pidió al patriarca que medie para que se detenga la guerra entre Rusia y Ucrania.
In a letter to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow on 2 March, World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca asked the patriarch to mediate so that the war between Russia and Ukraine can be stopped.
