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The WCC general secretary has expressed his strong appreciation of the recent election of Rev. Dr Samuel W. Meschak as president of the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC).

Christians need a "spirituality of resistance" to face oppression, violence and experiences of defeat, the WCC general secretary said in an address at Germany’s biggest Protestant gathering.

In a tribute issued from Geneva on 8 May, the WCC has paid its respect and sympathy to the family, friends and colleagues of the late Rev. Dr Somen Das, Rev. Dr Habil James Massey and Professor Ninan Koshy.

The WCC general secretary has sent a letter to the President of the Republic of Indonesia H. E. Joko Widodo appealing for clemency for the 10 death row prisoners scheduled for imminent execution in Indonesia.

“Christianity in China” forms the theme of 14 articles published in the March 2015 issue of The Ecumenical Review, a quarterly journal of the WCC. According to guest editors Xiao Ping Sun and Dietrich Werner, “Although early issues of The Ecumenical Review devoted some attention to the developments in Chinese Christianity and the need for better understanding and dialogue, in recent years the journal has published few articles” describing expressions of faith in China.

The WCC and the Christian Conference of Asia are deeply saddened by the news of the tragic earthquake that has rocked central Nepal. Official reports confirm that at least 1800 people are known to have died in Nepal after the devastating 7.9 magnitude quake, making it the nation’s worst disaster in more than 80 years.

The WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has expressed support to the churches in India amidst increasing acts of violence and vandalism affecting Christian communities in the country.

The WCC gives thanks for the life and work of renowned academic, theologian and political analyst Dr Ninan Koshy. A former executive secretary and director of the WCC’s Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, Koshy died at the age of 81 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India on 4 March.

The committee that advises WCC governing bodies on promoting ecumenical learning has ended its February 2015 meeting with a series of recommendations to ensure a vibrant study environment.

The WCC has extended congratulations former staff members Mathews George Chunakara and Young-Cheol Cheon who have been appointed to new positions leading two ecumenical organizations in Asia.

Challenged by Christians from Brazil to strive for greater respect for religious and cultural diversity, churches are reflecting together on the gospel of John as they celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

The newly published issue of Current Dialogue is now available online. Along with key documents from the WCC 10th Assembly, the issue includes several strong pieces addressing some thorny issues in contemporary inter-religious encounter and dialogue, including the recent Malaysian prohibition of Christian use of the name Allah for God, the relationship of ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue, the particular difficulties in dialogue among the Abrahamic traditions, and the limits of dialogue itself.

The world is giving itself a kind of Christmas gift this year, a serious gift and one that is long-overdue. On 24 December 2014 an international law to regulate the global trade in armaments and ammunition enters into force.

After a concerted examination of the evidence presented at the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons and two earlier conferences, 44 of the states present called for a ban on nuclear weapons. The host government Austria added momentum with a specific, cooperative pledge to “fill the legal gap for the prohibition of nuclear weapons” and eliminate them.

Participants in a recent WCC consultation in Myanmar have stressed the need to equip churches and ecumenical organizations to build peace, human security and human dignity in order to move beyond conflicts, towards a world of peace.

A report from the WCC calls for an effective response in meeting the needs of communities faced with unprecedented financial and economic crises, the threat of climate change and widespread ecological devastation.

At the 2nd General Assembly of the ACT Alliance held in Punta Cana, the Dominican Republic, the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit congratulated the new leadership of the ACT Alliance, a partner organization of the WCC, which has elected representatives of its governing bodies at the event.

In South Asia, where conflicts are often fueled by religion, a WCC conference stressed the role of Christians and Hindus as eminent stakeholders in their common search for justice and peace – beyond majority and minority politics.

The Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, has congratulated the two children's rights activists who won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.

Scattered throughout the recent history of Indigenous Peoples are national treaties, declarations and laws that languish in obscurity or are brushed aside and ignored.