In a 15 October letter to US president Joe Biden, leaders from the World Council of Churches, ACT Alliance, Council of Churches in Cuba, and other faith-based groups urged an end to nearly 60 years of embargo against the Cuban people, who are facing an appalling humanitarian situation.
Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee, shared a message with the Conference of the World Council of Religious Leaders on Faith and Diplomacy: Generations in Dialogue, being held 4-7 October in Lindau, Germany.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) presented a message at a major international gathering of world religious leaders and scientists ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
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.
On Monday, 13 September, the International Symposium for Communication for Social Justice in a Digital Age will begin online at 10 am CET in Berlin, Germany and continue until 5 pm CET on Wednesday, 15 September.
Human trafficking continues to remain one of the most grievous assaults on the fundamental rights and inherent dignity of people. The crime, also known as modern-day slavery, is dehumanising in the sense that it corrupts one’s identity as being made in the image of God, instead reducing one to a mere commodity or object.
On World Day Against Trafficking in Persons—30 July—the World Council of Churches and Lutheran World Federation co-hosted a joint webinar on human trafficking that put the voices of survivors first.
Prof. Dr h.c. Humberto Martin Shikiya, vice president of the Regional Ecumenical Advisory and Service Center (CREAS) In Argentina, reflects on how “Serving a Wounded World in Interreligious Solidarity: A Christian Call to Reflection and Action During COVID-19 and Beyond” is being received as a hopeful call to collaborate ecumenically and interreligiously. The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue jointly published “Serving a Wounded World” to encourage churches and Christian organizations to reflect on the importance of interreligious solidarity in a world wounded by the COVID-19 pandemic.
When Dr Michel Abs, secretary general of the Middle East Council of Churches, speaks about living conditions in Lebanon, his compassion for his people—and his passion for peace—brim over. In a video interview with the World Council of Churches, he honestly shared his deepest concerns about the current socio-economic crisis in his nation, and how churches are helping.
The World Council of Churches and the Lutheran World Federation are collaborating to host a joint event on human trafficking. The event will take place on 30 July 2021, the World Day Against Trafficking in persons. This day provides an opportunity to sound the alarm about the horrible crime of human trafficking as well as for governments, faith based organizations and other partners to reaffirm their commitment to end this gross violation of human rights.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) is beginning an East Jerusalem Initiative, through which the WCC-EAPPI is accompanying—even without a physical presence—families facing eviction and displacement, as well as people facing other violations of their rights. Below, WCC director of the Commission for the Churches on International Affairs Peter Prove explains the goals and history behind the East Jerusalem Initiative.
World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca offers reflections upon receiving the Bridge Builder Award for building bridges of understanding between people, nations, and communities at national and international levels. The award is presented by the Jury of the 14th August Committee Norway together with The Oslo Center.
At the annual Karlsruhe Foyer Church and Law reception on 15 June, German bishops gathered with judges of the Federal Constitutional Court and Federal Court of Justice, as well as representatives of the Federal Prosecutor's Office and of the legal profession in Germany, to hear some reflections on “Ecumenical engagement for human rights, and current challenges.”
The Christian Conference of Asia is organizing a two-week Institute on Human Rights, which began 17 May, offering participants from Asian countries an opportunity to explore the theme “Being Defenders of Human Rights and Human Dignity.”
In a letter to the UN Security Council, the World Council of Churches (WCC) welcomed the establishment of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, while at the same time urging the UN to take a more assertive role to ensure the ceasefire is not simply a lull in the violence. The letter laments the “heavy toll in civilian lives, especially children and women” - which has overwhelmingly affected the people of Gaza but which has also affected communities in Israel - as well as the destruction of schools and hospitals, and the attacks on the international media during this conflict. “The responsibility under international law to protect these populations and institutions is fundamental” the letter stresses, “and there must be accountability for violations thereof.”
His Beatitude the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III, in a statement, condemned the violence practiced against civilians in East Jerusalem, especially in the Holy Sanctuary of Al Aqsa mosque and the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiatives and Advocacy programme will hold workshops in April 2021 on HIV treatment adherence in Ivory Coast and Nigeria.
