Search results

With an intervention delivered by Max Weber, a student at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, the World Council of Churches expressed deep concern for human rights in Haiti. 

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay will visit Cuba from 17-19 December to reiterate WCC support for the churches and people in Cuba.

World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof Dr Ioan Sauca, in a letter to Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel, expressed support and admiration for a resolution passed in the United Nations General Assembly that ends the blockade which harms the Cuban people.

Today the world joins in mourning the passing of a towering figure in the struggle for freedom and for human dignity and rights.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) has facilitated churches’ engagement in a wide range of critical issues of the world since the last WCC Assembly in Busan, concluded the 58th meeting of the WCC CCIA, gathering church representatives in Johannesburg and online in the 75th anniversary year of the Commission’s creation.

With the welcoming sound of South African drums, the 58th meeting of the World Council of Churches Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) began this week in Johannesburg, reviewing the work of the commission between two WCC assemblies and discussing the churches’ engagement in critical issues of the world today.

The WCC’s Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) will meet on 2-6 November in Johannesburg and online, reviewing its work between the two WCC assemblies and preparing for the upcoming WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany.

In a 15 October letter to US president Joe Biden, leaders from the World Council of Churches, ACT Alliance, Council of Churches in Cuba, and other faith-based groups urged an end to nearly 60 years of embargo against the Cuban people, who are facing an appalling humanitarian situation.

As reports of casualties and loss grow in Haiti in the wake of a 7.2-magnitude earthquake on 14 August, a tropical depression was threatening the same area two days later.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) reached out in solidarity and prayer to people and churches in Haiti in the wake of a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti, on 14 August. 

The Haitian government declared a state of emergency, with 1,300 dead and several thousands injured.

A 12 July statement from the South African Council of Churches notes with deep concern the violence and destruction of property that is engulfing the nation. “This violence is resulting in untold suffering,” the statement reads.

In a letter to its European sister organizations, the Council of Churches in the Netherlands reiterated its call to the Dutch government to honour the call from the European Committee regarding the relocation of vulnerable and unaccompanied children from Greek refugee camps. The letter also urges European sister organizations to appeal to their governments to exercise the same human compassion.

‘Walking, praying and working together’ was the theme of Pope Francis’ 21 June visit to Geneva to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the World Council of Churches (WCC). Among those listening to the Pope's words was Pentecostal pastor Rev. Frank Chikane, one of the leaders of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa.

The huge impacts of businesses on the communities in which they operate often bring benefits, but companies can disregard and even harm people’s rights in pursuit of economic gain. The WCC, ACT Alliance and the Lutheran World Federation hosted a side event at the 6th United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva on 28 November, in this context.

The Reformation was a defining moment 500 years ago but can also serve as an inspiration for the next five centuries, South African Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba has told tens of thousands of people at the German Protestant Kirchentag.

To help the world’s children become HIV-free, faith groups must help bring UN goals to life through strong advocacy, rapid action and unprecedented collaboration, say experts. Children must be helped onto a “Super Fast Track” to end AIDS or they will die at what Dr Stuart Kean describes as a “shocking” rate.

The 21st International AIDS Conference, which concluded July 22, had its normal dose of science speak, with seminars and workshops ranging from new vaccine trials to the testing of a vaginal ring that appears to dramatically lower the risk of HIV infection in women.

People of faith and representatives of faith-based organizations demonstrated their commitment to meet the “Fast Track” challenges to end the AIDS epidemic at the 21st International AIDS Conference in Durban, 18-22 July. Extensive coverage of faith-based participation is available via www.iacfaith.org. Articles, video and photos will continue to be added.