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Le Conseil œcuménique des Églises et la Conférence des Églises de toute l’Afrique, dans une déclaration commune, ont appelé à une collaboration plus étroite entre les Églises et les établissements et associations sanitaires qui leur sont associés.

A web meeting co-organised by Globethics.net and the Cyberlaw University on 12 May focused on “Cyber Ethical Challenges of COVID-19," drawing 100 participants from four continents.

Norwegian churches added their voice to the chorus of concern for the people of the Amazon as the coronavirus increasingly spreads. In a letter to the Brazilian embassy, the Church of Norway and the Roman Catholic Church in Norway jointly expressed deep solidarity with the people of Brazil.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a new urgency to adopting an “Economy of Life,” and global religious groups that represent millions of people are saying now is the time.

The new issue of International Review of Mission includes a variety of articles, ranging from post-colonialism to public theology, and from mission models to Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation. Two of the articles are specifically concerned with healing, which is a pertinent theme at this current period of the coronavirus. These two articles clearly indicate that the biblical concept of health consists as it does of the welfare, health, and prosperity of the individual person as well as of communities as a whole. Individuals are always part of the communities they belong to.

Using lessons learned from building health-competent faith communities and responding to the HIV and AIDS epidemic, African church leaders are doing their best to help their communities cope with the novel coronavirus.

The WCC Executive Committee will meet online on 1-3 June, while the WCC Central Committee meeting has been postponed until June 2021.

As the UN secretary-general António Guterres shared a message on 12 May with religious leaders about how our shared vulnerability to the coronavirus pandemic reveals our common humanity, World Council of Churches (WCC) leaders agreed that solidarity is a foundation of a meaningful global response.

The South Sudan Council of Churches, in a pastoral message on 13 May, acknowledged that COVID-19 is a reality in South Sudan, and urged every citizen to make a personal commitment to fight it. “Our people must for sure understand that basic preventive measures by individuals and communities remain the most powerful tools to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” reads the message. “Therefore, unless each and every person works hard enough to quickly control the spread of this virus, it is likely to overwhelm us.”

As the world lurches through the coronavirus pandemic and its wide-ranging consequences, the World Council of Churches (WCC) will publish sets of resources for individuals, groups and faith communities to grapple spiritually with the new reality and come to terms with its meaning for their lives.

In a 5 May message entitled “The Story of our Pacific Household in the ‘New Normal,’ ” the Pacific Conference of Churches acknowledges those risking their lives to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and expressed condolences to those who have lost loved ones.

The Lutheran World Federation and Islamic Relief Worldwide issued on 11 May a call on all parties to lay down arms, institute an immediate ceasefire, and ensure humanitarian access in order to protect people from COVID-19.

Leaders of member churches in the South African Council of Churches wrote a pastoral letter to the people of South Africa, offering comfort and addressing the question of what will be the normal. “We write to say, God is with us even in these times of perplexing national pain,” reads the letter. “We applaud the scientific community, both here and at the World Health Organisation for the work they do in the face of a virus that is totally new to humanity; and we call on the nations of the world to support the WHO for the sake of all human society.”

A series of online Working Together meetings last week helped strengthen collaboration between the World Council of Churches (WCC) and its round table partner and specialized ministries, including ACT Alliance. The meetings, which normally takes place every May at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute was convened online by WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca.

Une série de réunions «Travailler ensemble» en ligne la semaine dernière ont aidé à renforcer la collaboration entre le Conseil œcuménique des Églises (COE) et ses partenaires ainsi que ses ministères spécialisés, dont l’Alliance ACT. La rencontre, qui a normalement lieu chaque année au mois de mai à l’Institut œcuménique de Bossey, a été présidée en ligne par le secrétaire général par intérim, le père Ioan Sauca.