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Kurt Koch, Kardinal der römisch-katholischen Kirche und Präsident des Päpstlichen Rates zur Förderung der Einheit der Christen, gewährte dem ÖRK ein Interview im Rahmen des Global Christian Forum. Dort hatten sich hochrangige Kirchenverantwortliche verschiedener Kirchentraditionen aus über 60 Ländern versammelten, um Solidarität mit Kirchen und christlichen Menschen zu bekunden, die heute in der Welt verfolgt und diskriminiert werden.

Cardinal Kurt Koch of the Roman Catholic Church, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, has granted an interview to WCC News. The conversation took place at the Global Christian Forum in Tirana, Albania where 150 high level leaders and representatives of various church traditions from more than 60 countries gathered to listen and learn from one another and to stand in solidarity with churches and Christians experiencing discrimination and persecution in the world today.

Today 35 bishops and church leaders from 20 countries gathered in Munich, Germany to discuss the refugee situation and the role of the churches in Europe.

The perplexing yet perennial association of religion and violence was probed this week in an event co-hosted by the WCC, the Journalists and Writers Foundation and the Zurich-based Dialog-Institut.

World leaders will meet at the crucial United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) in Paris from 30 November to 11 December. Faith groups around the world are building awareness of the importance of reaching a binding and ambitious agreement at the talks. In October, WCC members have taken part in climate activities in Germany.

An international conference held at the invitation of the Foreign Minister of the Hellenic Republic, Nikos Kotzias, has gathered around 70 prominent religious, political and academic figures in Athens, Greece, this week.

Es regnet, es ist kalt und windig. Der Herbst ist im Anzug im Norden Griechenlands. Soeben sind wir im Flüchtlingslager Idomeni im nördlichen Griechenland angekommen, an der Grenze zwischen Griechenland und der ehemaligen jugoslawischen Republik Mazedonien. Der drohende Wintereinbruch stellt für die Flüchtlinge eine ebenso große Bedrohung dar wie die Schlepper. Im schlimmsten Fall bringt der Winter den Tod.

It is raining. It is cold and windy. Autumn is in the air in northern Greece. We have just arrived at the Idomeni refugee camp in northern Greece, on the border between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). The fast-approaching winter poses as great a threat to the refugees as do the smugglers. In the worst case, winter means death.

Die Vereinigte Kirche Christi und die Vereinigte Kirche von Kanada, beide Mitglieder des ÖRK, machten am 17. Oktober in einem Gottesdienst in der St. Andrew's United Church in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Kanada, ihre Vereinbarung über die volle Kirchengemeinschaft offiziell.

The United Church of Christ and The United Church of Canada, both members of the WCC, formalized a full communion agreement in a worship service at St. Andrew's United Church, Niagara Falls, Ontario, on 17 October.

Following the burning and demolition of church buildings and the flight of many Christians from their villages in Indonesia, the WCC general secretary has expressed the world fellowship’s support of religious liberty and its solidarity with Indonesian believers as churches assist displaced people and work toward future peace.

Adebayo Anthony Kehinde leads an African group supporting ICAN, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. Its interfaith campaign is especially significant on the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings in Japan.

In a recent statement, religious leaders called for an ambitious climate agreement, reminding all governments to commit to emission cuts and climate risk reduction. They promised to continue working for climate justice, including divestment from fossil energy.

The WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has expressed deep concern over the renewed wave of violence in Jerusalem. In a letter to WCC member churches in Palestine and Israel, he expressed solidarity with the churches and peoples of the land, and affirmed WCC’s commitment to justice and peace in Palestine and Israel.

„Als weltweite Gemeinschaft von Kirchen liegt uns die Unterstützung von Initiativen für gerechten Frieden in der ganzen Region Naher Osten sehr am Herzen“, erklärte der ÖRK-Generalsekretär in Athen.

To achieve just peace in the Middle East, “it is very adequate to focus on what would maintain and reinforce the cultural and religious diversity that has distinguished this region for long centuries,” said the WCC general secretary.

Greetings from the WCC were brought to the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church on the Family in the Vatican this week by Rev. Dr Walter Altmann, a Brazilian Lutheran and former moderator of the WCC Central Committee.

Churches continue to play their role in peace building for South Sudan despite the dashed hopes of many in the world’s newest nation, the moderator of the WCC said at a regional meeting.

Im Rahmen der weltweiten Feierlichkeiten zum 15. Jahrestag seit der einstimmigen Annahme von Resolution 1325 des Sicherheitsrats der Vereinten Nationen zu Frauen, Frieden und Sicherheit wird der ÖRK vom 28. bis 30. Oktober in New York an einem Friedensforum teilnehmen, an dem die Errungenschaften im Zusammenhang mit der Resolution in Erinnerung gerufen und Strategien zur Stärkung und Mobilisierung von Frauen und Männern ausgearbeitet werden, damit die Umsetzung noch wirksamer wird.

As the world marks the 15th anniversary of the unanimous adoption of the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, the WCC will participate in a Peace Forum 28 to 30 October in New York City to commemorate achievements related to the resolution and to strategize on strengthening and mobilizing women and men for even more effective implementation.