Search results

Bringing together representatives from the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Joint Working Group between the WCC and the Roman Catholic Church met online on 21 February for its first executive meeting.

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

As the World Council of Churches (WCC) Climate Working Group meets this month, the advisory body is looking forward to offering the fruits of its work for reflection and, most important, action at the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe. Below, Rev. Henrik Grape, senior advisor on Care for Creation, Sustainability, and Climate Justice, reflects on climate justice work in the lead-up to the assembly and beyond.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ten weeks after Pope Francis visited the WCC in Geneva as “a pilgrim in quest of unity and peace,” church leaders of different churches representing the WCC and the Roman Catholic Church are meeting in Germany this week to continue their task of “walking, praying and working together.”

Korea’s Christian leaders have urged Catholics to work together with the WCC to help bring peace and reconciliation to their country. Rev. Dr Sang Chang, president of WCC’s Asia region, and Rev. Dr Lee Hong-jeong, general secretary of the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) were speaking as Pope Francis visited the headquarters of the ecumenical movement in Geneva to mark the WCC’s 70th anniversary.

The relationship between the WCC and Chiara Lubich dates back to the time of the Second Vatican Council. On her death, Samuel Kobia paid tribute, saying: “Our love for Chiara and immense gratitude for the gift of God she has been to the ecumenical movement, will continue to motivate and inspire us in our work for the visible unity of the church”.

As part of a Pilgrimage Reference Group meeting in Bogota, Colombia from 6-10 February, a WCC delegation visited the headquarters of the Conference of Latin American Bishops (CELAM).

Meeting on 12-15 September in Lisbon, Portugal, the Joint Working Group (JWG) of the WCC and the Roman Catholic Church focused its work on peace-building and the concerns of migrants.

In an audience with Pope Francis in the Vatican, World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee moderator Dr Agnes Abuom and WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit discussed how Christian unity is vital in bringing a true sense of justice to issues the world is facing today. The meeting also focused on how deepening relations in the one ecumenical movement.

Pope Francis and Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt have taken a significant ecumenical step by signing a common declaration that Roman Catholics and Copts may recognize each other’s baptisms. The agreement is, in the eyes of the World Council of Churches (WCC), a “sign of hope”.

“What is the role of churches in peace-building? How are they actually involved? Which are the ecumenical challenges, and especially which are the ecumenical opportunities that arise from joint efforts at peace building?” These were some of the questions on the table as the Executive of the Joint Working Group of the WCC and the Roman Catholic Church met in Dublin, Ireland on 24-26 April.

A 50-year-old religious text can shape interreligious relationships crucial for peace-building today, found participants in a workshop organized by the WCC and attended by guests from the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID) on 28 October.

Roman Catholic and WCC representatives are forging new ways of working together on today’s most pressing issues.