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The new surge in COVID-19 related hospitalizations and deaths has drastically increased the need for pastoral care almost everywhere. Brazil and Great Britain are two hard-hit countries, where the pandemic has brought existential questions on the table.  

Le meurtre brutal de Joao Alberto Silveira Freitas, un homme noir de 40 ans, aux mains de deux agents de sécurité blancs devant un supermarché à Porto Alegre au Brésil, le 19 novembre, la veille de la Journée nationale de la conscience noire, a suscité l’indignation dans tout le pays. Les Églises membres du Conseil œcuménique des Églises (COE) se sont exprimées pour condamner ce meurtre et exprimer leur profonde inquiétude face à l’injustice raciale systémique au Brésil.

The brutal killing of Joao Alberto Silveira Freitas, 40, a black man, at the hands of two white security guards outside a supermarket in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on 19 November, the eve of National Black Consciousness Day, has sparked outrage across the country. World Council of Churches (WCC) member churches raised their voices to condemn the killing and to express deep concern regarding systemic racial injustice in Brazil.

God’s creation groans in the Amazon forest, a sacred space for 34 million people suffering from the growth of inequality, land invasion, extractivism, relaxation of environmental laws, criminalization and murder of its defenders, and arson orchestrated by agribusiness—all of it made worse by proselytizing.

La création de Dieu gémit dans la forêt amazonienne, un espace sacré pour 34 millions de personnes souffrant de la croissance des inégalités, de l’invasion des terres, de l’extractivisme, de l’assouplissement des lois environnementales, de la criminalisation et du meurtre de ses défenseurs, et des incendies volontaires orchestrés par l’agribusiness – le tout aggravé par le prosélytisme.

Economist Thomas Kang is a member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

As coronavirus cases rise sharply in Latin American countries, so has violence against women.

One of the main voices of the Brazilian and Latin American ecumenical movement, Jether Pereira Ramalho passed away on 28 June, in Rio, leaving behind a legacy of inspiration, dedication and transformation to many generations.

Jether Pereira Ramalho, l’une des principales voix du mouvement œcuménique brésilien et latino-américain, est décédé le 28 juin dernier, à Rio de Janeiro, laissant derrière lui un héritage d’inspiration, de dévouement et de transformation pour de nombreuses générations.

As Brazilians face harder times on a daily basis with the increasing impacts of COVID-19 at all levels of society, several church-based organizations launched a campaign on 11 June calling on people to express solidarity with all who have lost family members and friends due to the pandemic and its systemic consequences in a reality marked by inequality, such as hunger, violence, and racism.

Norwegian churches added their voice to the chorus of concern for the people of the Amazon as the coronavirus increasingly spreads. In a letter to the Brazilian embassy, the Church of Norway and the Roman Catholic Church in Norway jointly expressed deep solidarity with the people of Brazil.

In a time when Brazil has been the arena of somehow conflicting narratives on how to face the COVID-19 pandemic, World Council of Churches (WCC) member churches have been active in supporting health authorities such as the World Health Organization in their efforts to advise people to be away from agglomerations that could increase transmission of the virus.

Alors que le Brésil a vu s’affronter des récits assez contradictoires sur comment faire face à la pandémie de COVID-19, les Églises membres du Conseil œcuménique des Églises (COE) ont activement soutenu les efforts d’autorités sanitaires telles que l’Organisation mondiale de la santé pour conseiller aux personnes d’éviter les regroupements qui augmenteraient la transmission du virus.

Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), received former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva, at the Ecumenical Centre on 6 March, in Geneva, Switzerland.