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WCC expresses grave concern over political situation in Sudan

The World Council of Churches (WCC) expressed grave concern over the current state of emergency in Sudan. Government officials, including ministers and civilian members of the Transitional Sovereign Council, have been arrested,” said WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca. It has also been reported that at least seven people have been killed and some 140 others injured after soldiers opened fire on demonstrators.”

WCC expresses concerns over reinstatement of death penalty in Malawi

World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed concern regarding the implications of a recent ruling of the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal reversing a judgement made in April that had declared the death penalty unconstitutional and ordered re-sentencing for all prisoners held on death row.” This reversal effectively reinstates the death penalty in Malawi, and allows judges to resume its imposition.

Christians, pastors and churches bear brunt of bandit attacks in Nigeria’s Kaduna State

In Nigeria’s northwest state of Kaduna, Christians are bearing the brunt of insecurity and violence, as bandits attack homes, villages and churches, killing Christians and kidnapping others for ransom.

At the centre of the communal violence is religious persecution, territorial ambition and ethnic cleansing in the region where communities have settled along religious lines, according to Rev. John Joseph Hayab, the country director for the Global Peace Foundation, Nigeria.

 

Prayers lift up peaceful elections in Zambia

During National Ecumenical Prayers for Peaceful Elections in Zambia, held 1 August, religious and civic leaders gathered in-person and online to pray for peaceful elections in the nation, which has been coping with a rise in violence during the lead-up to 12 August voting.

As transboundary water dispute over Nile River worsens, WCC calls for prayers for peace

As tension grows in the long-running regional dispute over a giant dam built by Ethiopia on the Blue Nile, one of the Nile Rivers main tributaries, World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary, Rev. Prof. Dr. Ioan Sauca appealed to all WCC member churches in Ethiopia, Egypt, Sudan and around the world to pray for a peaceful solution to the problem.

WCC gravely concerned by ongoing insecurity and violence in South Sudan, calls for full implementation of peace accords

World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca welcomed the announcement of the dissolution of parliament in South Sudan, to pave the way for the appointment of lawmakers from formerly warring parties in the country. This is an important step in the long-awaited and repeatedly delayed implementation of the peace accords between president Salva Kiir and vice president Riek Machar. “I pray that there will be no further delays in this process,” said Sauca, “and that the full implementation of the accords will finally ensure peace and good governance for the suffering people of South Sudan.”

WCC urges United States government to recognize Armenian Genocide

“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.

Ethiopia is praying for peace amid conflict and COVID-19

As Ethiopia faces increasing inter-communal tensions and violence, and rising cases of COVID-19, the nation’s religious communities have been jointly observing a special week of prayer for peace, an interreligious initiative that is bringing people together from all over the country.

US House panel advances historic effort to pay reparations to descendants of slaves

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.

WCC sends letters of concern over violence and conflict in Ethiopia

World Council of Churches (WCC) interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca sent letters to Ethiopian prime minister Dr Abiy Ahmed Ali as well as to WCC member churches in Ethiopia expressing serious concern over alarming reports of conflict, massacres and other human rights abuses, particularly in the Tigray and Beninshangul-Gumuz regions, over the last months.