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In a visit to Rome, a World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation met with organizations that, as WCC general secretary Jerry Pillay said, “keep the fire of ecumenism burning.”

During a visit with Pope Francis in Rome on 23 March, a World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation and the Roman Catholic Church committed to walking, praying. and working together for justice, reconciliation, and unity.

A World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation is traveling to Rome from 22-23 March for a visit with Pope Francis and other Roman Catholic leaders.

In an interview taped during the World Council of Churches 11th Assembly, Prof. Riccardo Burigana, director of the Centre for Ecumenical Studies in Italy, shares how excited he is to offer a new Bibliography on Ecumenism for free online as a tool for students, scholars, and researchers around the world.

Rich examples of the work promoted by member churches of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Italy in assisting refugees and migrants, have been the highlight of the first days of WCC delegation visit to the region this week.

The majority of the initiatives visited are led by women.

On 20 January, World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca will serve as a panelist for “Ecumenism in a Time of Pandemic: From Crisis to Opportunity.”

World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca shared joyful greetings to the Taizé European Youth Encounter as young people self-reflected, prayed, met each other, and together faced the needs of our times.

Meeting with Pope Francis in the Vatican on 25 June, both the Lutheran World Federation president Archbishop Dr Panti Filibus Musa and Pope Francis expressed the hope that the 500th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession in 2030 can become common ground on which to strengthen the commitment of Lutherans and Catholics to unity and reconciliation.

In a lecture at the Institute for Ecumenical Studies at St Thomas Aquinas Pontifical University (Angelicum) on 13 December, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit offered a lecture entitled "Ut Unum Sint: Between Winter and Spring, Reality and Prophecy, 1995 – 2020.”

A seminar on human resources and leadership development for diakonia was held in the West African Republic of Bénin from 13-17 May.

More than 70 African ecumenical leaders will take part in training seminars for diakonia and development, improving human resource development capacities of churches across all regions of the continent.

It’s taken a while, but a Protestant congregation in Italy has learned to live together despite wide cultural diversity. The process has been guided by the pastor’s conviction that intercultural work is an expression of Christian unity.

The first ever WCC Eco-School on Water, Food and Climate Justice will be held 24 July to 3 August, hosted by the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian Blantyre Synod. Applications are now open with a deadline of 11 June (deadline extended).

The Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe and the WCC have published a revised and updated edition of their joint study, Mapping Migration: Mapping Churches’ Responses in Europe. The 2016 text explores challenges and changes in the European church landscape in light of international migration.

In view of the current refugee crisis, European churches are being encouraged to deepen their efforts in receiving, supporting and protecting refugees who arrive in the region. This call was made in a letter issued jointly by the WCC, the Conference of European Churches and the Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe.

In the wake of recent crisis with the refugees in Europe, it is “absolutely and critically necessary that all European states take their proper responsibility in terms of reception and support for people seeking refuge, safety and a better future for themselves and their families. This cannot be left only to the states where they enter first,” says the WCC general secretary.