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To strengthen relationships and support churches in Latin America in their struggles for justice and peace, a pilgrimage of church leaders organized by the WCC will visit Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Colombia from 24 August to 7 September.

Announcement of the Rev. Milton Mejía as the new general secretary of the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI) was greeted by the WCC general secretary as “an expressive gesture of care for the treasure of ecumenical witness.”

In a letter issued from Bogota, Colombia, local and international Christian leaders have demanded a bilateral ceasefire between the Colombian government and the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), urging that peace talks be resumed.

The role of faith in promoting women’s human rights was the focus of an ecumenical training session held in Geneva, Switzerland, for representatives of faith-based organizations.

An independent commission on international tax reform initiated by a coalition of organizations including the WCC is calling for an overhaul of the global taxation system to alleviate poverty in developing nations including the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Dr Fulata Mbano-Moyo, the WCC programme executive for Women in Church and Society, called on the movement of Christian students to reclaim its radical transforming nature towards a “pilgrimage of gender justice”.

The WCC president for Latin America and the Caribbean, Rev. Gloria Ulloa, has participated at the 35th Assembly of the World Student Christian Federation. The event is currently underway in Bogotá, Colombia, until 5 March.

Christine Housel, general secretary of the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF), in an introductory speech, has expressed her hope that the 35th General Assembly of the WSCF may offer better understandings of justice and peace issues.

Serious death threats to human rights defenders, many of them church leaders, have been made by a paramilitary group in Colombia. The WCC, among other international organizations has called on Colombian government to protect their lives.

As the WCC promotes the vision of a “pilgrimage of justice and peace”, four students from the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, Switzerland, share their understanding of justice and peace and how they embarked on a pilgrimage of their own.

Care for creation and affirmation of faith values in addressing the impact of climate change were highlighted in a number of initiatives organized by members of the WCC in Lima, Peru. The capital is hosting the 20th Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The adverse impact of business activities on the lives of members of the local population in Colombia and El Salvador was highlighted by the WCC-sponsored participants at the United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights.

An emphasis on establishing societies that offer opportunities for fulfillment and development to all was endorsed by participants in a meeting at Bogota, Colombia. Such societies, they said, would especially benefit people with disabilities in Latin America, a region where prevalence of disability is high, as reported by the Economic Commission for Latin America.

Addressing challenges in the way of cooperation between churches and church-based development organizations, also known as “specialized ministries” – an international consultation in Malawi has been promoting mutual collaboration and a common vision of working together for justice and peace.

Fr Rex R. B. Reyes, Jr. vividly remembers what he calls “the fateful morning of 8 November” 2013.