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Pastors from Germany and Argentina reflect on what peace and justice means while a local church in Germany encourages others to do the same through a new resource.

Following five ballots, Rev. Felipe Adolf was elected on 24 May as president of the board of the Latin American Council of Churches during the 6th Assembly of this regional council in Havana, Cuba, meeting from 20 to 26 May.

In a panel discussion at the German Protestant Kirchentag in Hamburg, the WCC general secretary expressed his hopes for the leadership of Pope Francis.

“Diakonia must be done through action, social services, advocacy and challenging systems and structures that create injustice and dehumanization of people,” said Rev. Dr Paul Gardner of Jamaica at a seminar in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, which included a visit by the president of Haiti.

A leading ecumenist of the late 20th century, Rev. Dr Emilio Castro is remembered by the WCC for “his unfaltering efforts in bringing together Christian faith and spirituality with radical commitment in the struggles for justice.”

Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, archbishop of Buenos Aires, has made history as the first pope of the Roman Catholic Church from Latin America, from the Jesuit order, and the first to adopt the name of Francis, inspired by St Francis of Assisi. His election has invoked diverse reactions from ecumenical leaders in the Latin America region.

Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), has expressed ecumenical greetings and an assurance of continuing engagement with the Roman Catholic Church in the era of its new pontiff, Pope Francis.

In La Paz, an ecumenical delegation delivered to Bolivian government officials a statement on ethical principles for a new global economic system. The statement was received by Bolivian minister of the presidency Juan Ramon Quintana at the government palace on 9 January.

“Sixteen years after the signing of the peace accord in 1996, Guatemala is still struggling to overcome wide ranging issues that put the economic, political and social wellbeing of the country at risk,” noted a World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation visiting Guatemala from 27 to 29 November.

More than thirty participants from different Latin American countries will be meeting in Antigua, Guatemala for a regional consultation reflecting on peace and human security in Latin America.

The life and work of former World Council of Churches (WCC) president Bishop Federico Pagura, 89, are honored in a new book launched in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 26 October, at the First Methodist Church of Buenos Aires (IEMA).

Despite being a wealthy country at one time, Argentina has more recently faced recurring economic crises, persistent fiscal and current account deficits, high inflation, mounting external debt and capital flight. The major down turn in Argentina’s economy was from 1999 to 2000, and is still causing a feeling of incertitude among its citizens.

Youth engagement in eco-justice is expanding in scope and sophistication, says Marcelo Leites, Latin American and Caribbean regional secretary for the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF).

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 Susan Kim (*)

A tribute published by the World Council of Churches (WCC) expresses deep admiration for the life and work of renowned liberation theologian José Míguez Bonino, who passed away on 1 July in the city of Tandil, Buenos Aires, at the age of 88.

World Council of Churches (WCC) participants in the Rio+20 Conference have joined a broad religious coalition in rejecting the official outcome document of the United Nations-sponsored event.