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World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has congratulated the European Union for being the recipient of the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize. The EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on 12 October for its six decades of work in advancing peace and democracy in Europe.

“We have come a long way in these fifty years,” observed Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit in a message to the general assembly of bishops of the Roman Catholic Church gathered on the anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, or Vatican II, by Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962.

[Joint release with the World Communion of Reformed Churches and the Council for World Mission.]

The current global economic and financial scenario has been described as the “mess we are in” by Sir Richard Jolly at a global conference on a new economic and financial architecture taking place in Brazil this week. He pointed out the lack of good governance in many countries.

Fifteen representatives from churches, ecumenical organizations and other partners from Africa, Asia, North and South America, Europe and the Pacific came together this week in Crete to assess the work of the World Council of Churches (WCC) on care for creation and climate justice and to strategize for the future.

“It is not possible to talk about a new financial architecture without linking it to the pain and struggles of the people,” said Rev. Dr Collin I. Cowan at an ecumenical conference on a new financial and economic architecture, currently underway in Brazil.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) invites applications for workshops, exhibitions and side events for its upcoming 10th Assembly to be held in Busan, Republic of Korea. The deadline to submit proposals is 31 October 2012.

In a world where understanding of Christian mission is changing rapidly, Bishop Geevarghese Mor Coorilos, moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) explains what new visions the WCC mission statement will bring to the churches.

A framework and criteria for a new financial and economic architecture will be discussed at an ecumenical conference in Brazil this week. These criteria will embrace ethics and justice to address ecological concerns. The debates at the event will highlight the concerns of millions of people affected by the financial crisis.

"€œIndigenous Peoples, in spite of their debilitating experiences of discrimination, displacement and disempowerment, have sustainable alternatives to many of the world’s problems,"€ said Dr Pusin Tali. These alternatives, he said, are "€œdrawn from their rich traditions of wisdom, based on their deep interactive engagement with the earth."

What are the connections between widespread poverty and ecology? Seventy-five scientists, activists, philosophers and theologians are meeting from 26 to 30 September at the Orthodox Academy of Crete, in Kolympari, Greece, to understand the intertwined dynamics of economic development and environmental sustainability.

More than 10,000 users have signed up for an online theological library supported by the World Council of Churches (WCC) that offers worldwide access free-of-charge to thousands of full text articles, dissertations and other documents covering theology and ecumenism.

By Marcelo Schneider (*)

After a four year interval the World Council of Council (WCC) and the Centre for Inter-religious Dialogue (CID) in Tehran, Iran, have recommenced their meetings for bi-lateral dialogue.

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