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Addressing the urgency of witnessing to the gospel in current ecumenical and multi-religious situations, the WCC will develop materials to assist churches engaged in both ecumenical dialogue and inter-religious dialogue.

In an ecumenical consultation held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, called human trafficking a criminal activity, on rapid increase in the world. Ezeilo said that not a single country or entity has yet been able to stop this practice, and the magnitude of this problem is enormous.

Strong concerns were expressed by the WCC Executive Committee over the increasing number of internally displaced persons and the on-going conflict in South Sudan in statements adopted by the committee on 12 February, during its meeting in Bossey, Switzerland.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity has been globally celebrated this year with prayers, reflections, ecumenical services and events focusing on Paul’s question in Corinthians 1 “Has Christ been divided?” a theme for this year’s prayer materials, prepared by the Canadian churches.

Publication of the text The Church: Towards a Common Vision has been called an ecumenical highlight of 2013. Now under study by churches throughout the world, it is a document in search of convergence. The most recent issue of the quarterly journal The Ecumenical Review features commentary on this product of the WCC Commission on Faith and Order.

In one of their first decisions as the Central Committee for the World Council of Churches, the 150-member committee made history Friday by electing Dr Agnes Abuom of Nariobi, Kenya as the moderator of the highest WCC governing body.

A seminar has marked the strengthening of relationships between the WCC and the Global Christian Forum, affirming their distinctive and complementary roles in the quest for Christian unity.

The WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has expressed condolences following the death of Brother Jeffrey Gros, recalling his significant contributions to Christian unity and ecumenical dialogue as a Catholic theologian.

Pentecostals and Charismatics are among the fastest growing Christian groups in the world. The question is to what extent the Pentecostals understand themselves as a church or a movement. This existential and ecclesiological issue remains ambiguous.

The WCC general secretary has expressed “great sadness” over the death of Rev. Dr Prakai Nontawasee, former member of the WCC Central Committee and the Commission on Faith and Order in the 1970s and 1980s.

In a recent meeting in the Netherlands, theologians and ecumenists came together to give renewed consideration to an interim statement titled A Church of All and for All, first produced in 2003 by the Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network and the WCC’s Commission on Faith and Order.

At a WCC consultation in Hong Kong participants reflected on “Asia’s human security challenges” today and how to strengthen efforts of working towards “sustainable peace with justice in Northeast Asia.”

The upcoming WCC 10th Assembly is not only a pivotal moment in the life of the global fellowship of 345 member churches but also a defining moment for the WCC and its programmatic and financial partners.

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.”

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.

At a time of widespread scandals over clergy sex abuse, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and World Student Christian Federation (WSCF) have called for professional standards of clergy accountability at an international forum on violence against women.

In a World Council of Churches (WCC) governance meeting, The Church: Towards a Common Vision, a convergence text of the Commission on Faith and Order, was officially presented by the WCC general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit expressed “profound thanks” on 27 February for the ministry and witness of Pope Benedict XVI as he officially completed his service as head of the Catholic Church. Pope Benedict had announced his departure earlier in the month, effective 28 February.

A delegation from the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) of the Roman Catholic Church led prayers at the chapel of the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, Switzerland on Monday, 18 February.

The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI has brought words of respect and appreciation from the general secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.