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The African continent bears witness to the tragic consequences of the manipulation of religion to incite violence. Yet it is also the home of untold instances of the power of religious leaders and actors to exert a positive influence, said panellists at an international meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, today.

Sexual and reproductive health services must be not just "youth-friendly" but also “male- and female-friendly" and "youth participatory" so that young men and women gain access to the information and services they need and want, agreed adolescents who attended a workshop in Lomé, Togo on 24-25 March.

South Sudan Council of Churches (SSCC) leaders have in their Easter message reiterated a pledge no longer to simply make statements and stand idly by while their leaders ignore their advice in the quest for peace in their troubled nation.

Preventing HIV, particularly among adolescents and youth, was the focus of a two-day meeting for 25 Sunday school teachers and chaplains from the Methodist Church of Togo, Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Togo, Assemblies of God, Baptist Convention and Pentecostal Church.

The 13th International General Assembly of the Church of the Lord (Prayer Fellowship) was held in the Bantama area of Kumasi, Ghana from 9 to 16 November.

"Securing peace for South Sudan". That is how Fr James Oyet Latansio describes today's main challenge for the South Sudan Council of Churches. Since he was appointed general secretary six months ago, he has been on a tireless journey, beating the drum for peace throughout his war-torn country.

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.

“The guns have to go silent, so that people have the time to reflect, heal and move forward toward a path of peace,” said Fr James Oyet Latansio, general secretary of the South Sudan Council of Churches.

The South Sudan Council of Churches has encouraged all parties to the conflict to sign the “Proposed Compromise Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan.”

When a WCC meeting on ecumenical HIV and AIDS response concluded last week in Limuru, Kenya, its message to the global HIV and AIDS community was terse: traditional ways of tackling the pandemic have failed.

The WCC Executive Committee discussed at their meeting 8-12 June, in Armenia, the alarming situation in South Sudan where people continue to be killed, raped, displaced and tortured. The humanitarian situation is reported to be deteriorating.

As the tragic situation of conflict in South Sudan moves into its 18th month, the WCC and the South Sudan Council of Churches continue calling for an end to the senseless conflict.

As the tragic situation of conflict in South Sudan moves into its 17th month, the World Council of Churches (WCC) invites its member churches to a special day of prayer on Sunday, 10 May, for those affected by the South Sudanese conflict, for the revival of fruitful peace talks, and for new ways ahead.

The WCC in collaboration with the South Sudan Council of Churches convened church leaders for a special consultation on the South Sudan Peace Process in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The peace process in South Sudan and efforts from churches towards reconciliation were the focus of a meeting between Ellen Margrethe Løj, special representative and head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, and Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC.

The Episcopal Church of South Sudan and Sudan’s diocese of Wau has developed a course titled “Reconcile - Moving Forward in Peace”, inviting people to be peace-builders this Lenten season.

The WCC mourns the death of Leopoldo J. Niilus, former director of the WCC’s Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA), renowned lawyer, peace negotiator and author of several writings on human rights and international affairs.

The “pilgrimage is both a way to continue working for the one ecumenical movement and a way to move forward in our times that offer new dimensions, opportunities and practices,” said the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.

“HIV and AIDS is not just a public health issue. It is a multi-layered social issue – an issue churches in West Africa should not ignore,” says Rev. Godson Lawson, a pastor in the Methodist Church in Togo, a country where 110,000 people are living with HIV and 6,600 lives have been lost to the pandemic, according to recent UNAIDS estimates.

Inspired by the theme “pilgrimage of justice and peace”, the Central Committee of the WCC, a chief governing body of the Council, has set directions for the work of the Council from 2014 to 2017.