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Dr. Emily Welty is an assistant professor in Peace and Justice Studies at Pace University in New York City (USA). She also serves as vice moderator of the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs. As an advocate for banning nuclear weapons, Dr Welty is known both for her unwavering belief in a world free from nuclear weapons, and for her strategic thinking toward that goal.

The need for the ecumenical movement is an urgent one today, said World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit as he spoke this week at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University in Minnesota (USA).

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.

At a Welcome Service on 13 August for the 2017 Annual Conference at the Centenary Methodist Church in Suva, Fiji, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit offered a sermon that reflected on what it means, spiritually and ecologically, to exist in deep water.

Fiji President, Major-General (Retired) Jioji Konrote has urged the World Council of Churches (WCC) to support the Fiji Presidency at the 23rd Conference of Parties (COP23), the 2017 climate change conference in Bonn, Germany.

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.

À la lumière des progrès récents de l’armement nucléaire et de l’aggravation des tensions entre les dirigeants des États-Unis et de la Corée du Nord qui pourraient conduire la planète au bord de la guerre, les Églises du monde entier appellent à un dialogue bilatéral, exprimant ainsi leur attachement à la paix et à la résolution non violente du conflit.

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.

Au nom de la paix, les responsables d’Églises de Jérusalem appellent à préserver le statu quo historique qui permet d’accéder à la mosquée al-Aqsa et à son parvis, ainsi qu’aux autres lieux saints de la ville.

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 first of a series of 12 monthly Bible studies inspired by themes related to the Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace is now available online on the website of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

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.

Aujourd’hui, le Conseil œcuménique des Églises (COE) s’est déclaré très préoccupé par une nouvelle loi adoptée lundi par la Knesset qui interdirait l’octroi de visas d’entrée aux ressortissants étrangers ayant appelé à un boycott économique, culturel ou universitaire d’Israël ou des colonies israéliennes dans les territoires palestiniens occupés. Il semblerait que la «Loi sur l’entrée en Israël» (Refus de visas aux non-résidents ayant sciemment appelé au boycott d’Israël) ne fasse aucune distinction entre le boycott d’Israël à proprement parler et celui des produits des colonies qui sont généralement considérés comme illégaux par le droit international.

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.”

Le Conseil œcuménique des Églises (COE), ACT Alliance (ACT) et la Fédération luthérienne mondiale (FLM) ont fait savoir leur préoccupation à propos des mesures américaines récentes relatives à l’accueil et à l’entrée aux États-Unis des réfugiés en provenance de sept pays à majorité musulmane. Ces organisations ont déclaré que la foi appelle les chrétiens à aimer et à accueillir l’étranger, le réfugié, les personnes déplacées, autrement dit : « l’autre ».

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.