As the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov, World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca congratulated them and expressed solidarity with their ongoing fight for justice and peace.
An Ecumenical Call: High Time for ‘Peace and Accountability’ in South Sudan by the Ecumenical Network on South Sudan (ENSS) Europe and North America Hub on the occasion of the International Peace Day, 21st September 2021
If digital social justice begins with connectivity, perhaps it ends when that connectivity is usurped by oppressive regimes, extremists, fake news and hate speech. A “press club”-style conversation on 13 September found theologians, politicians, church communicators, activists and journalists from around the world weighing in on the short but exceedingly complex question, “Digital instruments – Blessing or Curse?”
At a conference to promote freedom of religion and preservation of spiritual, cultural and historical heritage, held at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin from 8-12 September, World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca reflected on “Holy Places and our Human Identities.”
“Holy Places and our Human Identities”, address of the World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca at the conference "International Religious Freedom and Peace – To Promote Freedom of Religion and Preservation of Spiritual, Cultural and Historical Heritage" held at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin from 8-12 September 2021.
An upcoming international symposium, scheduled for 13-15 September, will explore some key questions to help us map a more just digital future, a future that “increasingly calls for deeper reflection and new thinking in philosophy, ethics, jurisprudence, and theology,” said World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof Dr Ioan Sauca.
Pastor Godson Lawson Kpavuvu, president of the Methodist Church of Togo, is also chair of the International Reference Group of the World Council of Churches Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy programme (WCC-EHAIA). Involved with WCC-EHAIA from the beginning, he reflects below on what it’s like to be, as he describes, “one of the veterans of the struggle.”
This booklet has been prepared to serve as a background document for the purpose of the webinar on “Past Massacres in Africa”. Its objective is to recognize and list some of the tragic massacres that took place during colonial times in Africa.
When I read about Zerubbabel launching efforts in rebuilding Jerusalem I nod with a smile. Zechariah 4:10 says: “... Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin" (New Living Translation). Zerubbabel reminds me of a small nation that also started humbly, but whose efforts, despite the choir of doubters, have been greatly blessed by the Lord.
Philip Lee is general secretary of the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC). Below, he reflects on some of the questions that will be explored during the upcoming international symposium “Communication for Social Justice in the Digital Age,” scheduled for 13-15 September.
The hopes for better times to come in the aftermath of the pandemic were evident when World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee members from the Asia region gathered online 24 June to share recent experiences and prepare for a productive WCC assembly next year.
World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca conveyed greetings, along with a sense of concern, to the WCC’s Muslim colleagues and partners around the world as they observe Eid al-Fitr.
The World Council of Churches joined dozens of other faith-based and humanitarian groups in signing a Global Civil Society Statement on Myanmar urging the United Nations Security Council to impose a comprehensive global arms embargo on Myanmar to help prevent further violations of human rights against peaceful protesters and others opposing military rule.
With the death and burial of Prince Philipp, Duke of Edinburgh, and husband of Queen Elizabeth II, of the English and the British Commonwealth throne, a kind of Orthodox Christian witness came into the fore, in the form of Christian Brotherhoods, quite unknown to Greece and the entire Orthodox world. Very few till now in Greece had known that there is also another kind of Orthodox Christian witness, that of the socially oriented and pastorally significant Brother- (and Sister-) hoods, especially in periods of crisis.
The world’s Orthodox Christians drew together in prayer, in small groups, in cathedrals and churches, or at home with loved ones, ringing a traditional Orthodox Easter greeting in an especially challenging year: “Christ is risen! Indeed, Christ is risen!”
As human rights violations worsen in the Philippines, religious leaders there are urging global solidarity for their increasingly urgent quest for justice.
