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WCC general secretary calls for peace talks in Libya

The power and political will being used in Libya to protect the safety and interests of the Libyan people “must be directed away from the use of armed force” and “channelled into negotiations to end the bloodshed” now consuming Libya, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) said in a statement on 4 May.

“Only the excluded have the stamina to destabilize oppressive structures”

“Dalit studies are driven not by a sense of fascination with the phenomenon of caste but by social responsibility and moral commitment for social transformation. This will elevate the empirical to the universal”, said Prof. Gopal Guru from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, in his keynote address at an international colloquium on “Caste, Religion and Culture” in Kochi, Kerala, India.

Worldwide action for peace in Palestine and Israel coming up

As part of a week-long series of events to promote a just peace in Israel and Palestine, Palestinians and Israelis will be praying for peace in front of several Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, the separation wall and in houses of worship in Jerusalem and across Palestine.

Indian Christians to tackle dynamics of caste, religion and culture

An international colloquium on Caste, Religion and Culture will be held in Cochin, Karala, India, 1-4 May. The event will be held at the Renewal Centre in Cochin and is being sponsored by the World Council of Churches (WCC), the National Council of Churches in India, the Centre for Social Studies and Culture and the Student Christian Movement of India.

From Chernobyl to tsunami stones: Life-saving lessons on peace convocation agenda

The Chernobyl disaster of 25 years ago remains a human and environmental tragedy so severe the consequences will continue for centuries. Its anniversary this week is especially timely given the current emergency in Japan which echoes some of Chernobyl’s hard lessons. To learn them would honour those who suffer from the past and could save lives in the future.

Building “right relations” between people and with the earth

Jim Hodgson is a journalist with extensive experience in Latin America and the Caribbean. Since 2000, Hodgson has worked with the United Church of Canada’s Caribbean and Latin America desk, most recently as programme coordinator for South America and the Caribbean.

Trees and tweets for World Sunday for Peace

As the sun rises on Sunday 22 May Christians and churches across the world are being encouraged by the World Council of Churches (WCC) to celebrate God’s peace in their worship services, to hold a Peace Sunday dawn vigil, to plant a tree as an act of peace or to use social media to share prayers for peace with Christians around the world.

WCC expresses condolences to the United Nations

The general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, has sent condolences to the United Nations mourning the tragic loss of United Nations staff in Afghanistan in a violent response to the burning last month of a Muslim Koran in the state of Florida, United States.

Churches urge NATO to remove all nuclear weapons from Europe

The World Council of Churches (WCC) and church organizations on both sides of the Atlantic are urging NATO to remove all United States nuclear weapons still based in Europe and end their role in the alliance’s policy. The 200 or so nuclear weapons involved are “remnants of Cold War strategies” the ecumenical organizations say in joint letters. “NATO should rethink deterrence and security cooperation in Europe”, they say, and make good on NATO’s new commitment last year to “creating the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons”.

International Ecumenical Peace Convocation launched in Jamaica

From the sound of a new song written specifically for the upcoming International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC), to a proclamation that Jamaica is the proper place for this peace event, the IEPC was officially launched at a ceremony in Kingston, Jamaica on 15 March organized by the Jamaican Council of Churches and the Caribbean Conference of Churches, hosts of the IEPC.

IEPC youth essay contest: five winners

Five essays have been selected as the top entries in the Echos International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) essay contest. It is tied to the IEPC, sponsored by the World Council of Churches (WCC), an event which is to be held in Kingston, Jamaica from 17 to 25 May 2011.

Migration and theological method

Father Daniel Groody, a professor from Notre Dame University in the United States and a Roman Catholic priest, presented a theological approach to the topic of migration at a Tuesday 8 March gathering in the library of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva.

Tveit meets with archbishop and president of Cyprus

The general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit met with Archbishop Chrysostomos II of the Church of Cyprus and the president of Cyprus, Dr Demetris Christofias, in separate meetings Thursday in Nicosia.

Lenten campaign focuses on water and just peace

“Water and Just Peace” will be the theme of this year's Lenten reflections provided by the Ecumenical Water Network (EWN). Starting on Monday 7 March the weekly reflections will explore the connection between access to water, struggles over this precious resource and building just peace.

WCC condemns murder of Minority Affairs official in Pakistan

In a letter to the prime minister of Pakistan, the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) expressed “great shock and dismay” at the assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti, the Pakistan government minister for Minority Affairs. Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit noted that reports indicate that Bhatti “was assassinated by religious extremists because he was critical of the controversial blasphemy law in Pakistan.”

WCC joins in appeal to guard human rights in the face of climate change

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is among 25 religious and secular organizations who have addressed a letter to the Human Rights Council of the United Nations strongly urging the appointment of a UN special rapporteur or a similar procedure to investigate climate change.  The goal of such an investigation would be to identify “the adverse impacts of climate change for human rights” and make recommendations for further action by international bodies. “Climate justice, a core demand in the WCC climate change work, includes looking at how human rights are protected and enhanced, especially looking at the most vulnerable populations, such as those in Africa, Asia, the Pacific or the Caribbean,” said Dr Guillermo Kerber, the WCC programme executive for climate change. “The WCC has clearly stated that climate change has human rights implications,” he added. “It became clear to us after the COP 15 Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, at Copenhagen in December 2009, that other avenues in the UN system would have to be explored to protect victims of climate change. Having a special procedure on climate change and human rights would be a way to enhance that protection.” The letter to the UN Human Rights Council calls for action to be taken at the council session to be held in June 2011.