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The Dicastery for Promoting Interreligious Dialogue is hosting a conference in Rome on the importance of women building a culture of interreligious encounter.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, held 18-25 January, will draw together churches across the globe to reflect on the hope and joy in Matthew 2:2, “We saw the star in the East, and we came to worship him.”

The Executive Committee of the Joint Working Group between the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Roman Catholic Church met virtually on 12 October to exchange reflections on addressing current challenges and to plan release of future publications.

The Middle East Council of Churches, based in Beirut, Lebanon, has been the convener for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2022 drafting group. The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Vatican have now published the material in several languages.

In a virtual meeting from 12-14 April, the Joint Working Group between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches (WCC) shared prayers, made plans for joint publications, and planned the involvement of the Catholic Church in the WCC 11th Assembly in 2022.

During an online meeting on 3 February, the Executive Committee of the Joint Working Group between the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Roman Catholic Church focused on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ecclesial life and ecumenical relations in different local contexts.

An Ecumenical Vademecum for Bishops, first drafted by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity then published by the dicastery with the blessing of Pope Francis, promotes ecumenism within the Catholic Church and within its relationships with other Christians.

The leadership of the Joint Working Group between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches (WCC), during an online meeting held 6 November, released a communique acknowledging the current unprecedented challenges and mapping the work ahead.

Fr Joshtrom Isaac Kureethadam helps coordinate the Sector on Ecology and Creation in the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development at the Vatican in Rome. He is among those planning activities during a special year, running from 24 May 2020 to 24 May 2021, to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the Laudato Si’ encyclical.

The Executive Committee of the Joint Working Group between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches (WCC) met online on 6 July under the leadership of His Eminence Archbishop and Metropolitan Nifon of Târgoviște, Romanian Orthodox Church, and Most Rev. Diarmuid Martin, Catholic Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland.

In the field of multilateral relations, the major partner of the Catholic Church is the World Council of Churches (WCC). Founded in 1948, it is the broadest and most inclusive ecumenical organization, bringing together 350 Christian denominations including Orthodox, Lutherans, Reformed, Anglicans, Methodists, Baptists as well as United and Independent churches. Altogether they represent over 500 million Christians worldwide.

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.”

The Joint Working Group between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches (WCC) met in Lyon, France for its annual plenary session from 2-5 September. The group released a communique focusing on migration and peace building, outlining areas for theological reflection and cooperation.

An ecumenical spiritual retreat led by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Pope Francis at the Vatican ended yesterday with Pope Francis kissing the feet of South Sudan’s political leaders. The unprecedented two-day retreat was organised in an effort to support the country’s fragile peace deal.

Almost 30 international students from the WCC's Bossey Ecumenical Institute, Switzerland, are embarking on a future of ecumenism, dialogue and unity that began with months of intense study and fellowship.

The annual meeting with the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID) and the World Council of Churches was held in Rome from 10-11 January. Staff of both the PCID and the Office of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation of the World Council of Churches participated.

What else could your family, your parish, your community do to respond to the needs of migrants and refugees arriving in your country? Representatives of many different churches met in Rome in September to discuss that practical question, as well as respond to the broader challenge of how people of faith can combat the rising tide of racism, xenophobia and nationalist policies that increasingly target vulnerable migrants and asylum seekers.

Pope Francis met on 20 September with leaders of different Christian churches who have been taking part in a Rome meeting on combating racism and xenophobia, saying he hoped their encounter would give rise to many other such shared initiatives.