Many ecumenical pioneers, including former WCC general secretary Philip Potter, were in a sense a product of the Sunday School movement. Ulrich Becker tells a story that seems to be in danger of being forgotten.
Representatives from over 25 faith expressions and from more than 30 civil society organizations gathered for a public event in downtown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during the opening week of the 2016 Olympic games to affirm the dignity of human beings and the planet Earth and the defense of human rights.
In an ecumenical celebration at the cathedral of Lausanne, Switzerland, the WCC general secretary preached on the theme of the WCC’s upcoming Busan assembly. He encouraged churches to continue their journeys towards justice and peace.
Substantial information on torture and other human rights abuses was entrusted to the Brazilian attorney general at a ceremony in São Paulo on 14 June 2011. There was also a call for a national truth commission in Brazil to shed more light on past atrocities during the ceremony.
During a two-decade period of brutal dictatorship, in 1979, Brazilian church workers and dissenting lawyers found a loophole in the legal system allowing them to gather evidence of atrocities and other abuses committed by the military regime.
