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Citing the European churches’ “strong commitment over the past century to the ecumenical movement and fellowship in Europe,” WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit urged their direct engagement in the current financial and social crisis in and beyond Europe.

By Naveen Qayyum (*)

The participants of a World Council of Churches (WCC) sponsored hearing on the misuse of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws have urged the Pakistani government to “take realistic and solid steps to stop abuse of the blasphemy law that are causing massive human rights violations.”

“No state should take away the right of its citizens to debate a law that affects them gravely. Therefore, there is a growing need of dialogue on the blasphemy law and its negative impacts on religious minorities in Pakistan,” said I.A. Rehman, veteran human rights activist and director of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in a side event at the United Nation’s Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

While accusations of blasphemy in Pakistan have once again captured the news headlines, Bishop Samuel Azariah, moderator of the Church of Pakistan, hopes for the Pakistani government to consider repealing the controversial clause in the Pakistan Penal Code which, he says, invokes misuse of the blasphemy law.

At a place called Antietam, 23,000 soldiers died in the bloodiest day of the American Civil War. More than 150 years later, 20 different religious traditions will gather on this battlefield in Maryland, United States as part of the 2012 International Day of Prayer for Peace commemorations to share prayers and songs of peace. Â

“The misuse of blasphemy law is contrary to the vision of Pakistan as a moderate and democratic country,” said Mohammad Tahseen, in a public hearing on the “Misuse of blasphemy law and religious minorities in Pakistan” organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva, Switzerland.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has expressed great “regret” on the making of the film “The Innocence of Muslims”. He called the film an “an insult to the heart of the Muslim faith” and “to all peoples of faith.”

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary has hailed the appointment of Dr Tarek Mitri as the United Nations secretary general’s special representative in Libya, a decision announced on 12 September at the UN Security Council meeting.

Recent debates on the role of Christian communication are being impacted by a communications statement released in May by the World Council of Churches (WCC), the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) and the Korean Host Committee for the WCC 10th Assembly.

The question of who is your enemy is one that touches everyone in the world particularly in a place like Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina which suffered a devastating civil war nearly two decades ago.

South Africa, Australia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Greece, French Polynesia (Maohi Nui), Pakistan, Syria and Myanmar have provided the subjects for statements and minutes of concern voiced by the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) as part of public issues actions during a recent meeting of that governing body at the Orthodox Academy of Crete in Kolympari, Greece.

Some 22 representatives of the major Asian associations of theological schools came together recently in Indonesia to discuss challenges for training of ministers and lay people in Asian churches and to set goals for a new forum on theological education.

A public statement applauding steps toward peace talks in Colombia was issued recently by representatives of churches and ecumenical organizations that form the Peace Commission of the Evangelical Council (CEDECOL), the Ecumenical Network in Colombia and the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI).

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee has adopted a statement expressing concern on abductions, forced marriages and forced conversions of young women from Christian and Hindu communities in Pakistan.

The Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) has expressed its support for the active participation of Christians in Myanmar who promote peace at the grass-roots level.

The Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) issued a public statement on 4 September calling for re-inscription of the French Polynesia (Maohi Nui) on the list of countries to be decolonized.

Calling for an immediate end to all forms of violence in Syria, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee issued a public statement on 4 September requesting “all parties to engage in dialogue – as the only solution – in order to safeguard the unity and pluralistic nature of historic Syria”.

During a plenary session at its current meeting, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee explored emerging issues that hinder gender equality and the building of a safe community for women and men in churches and societies around the world.

In recognition of his work for peace, dialogue and Christian witness, the vice-moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee, Metropolitan Prof. Dr Gennadios of Sassima of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, has been awarded an honorary fellowship by the Orthodox Academy of Crete (OAC).