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Following North Korea’s 6th nuclear weapon test on Sunday 3 September, the World Council of Churches (WCC) redoubled its calls to reduce tensions on the Korean peninsula through negotiation rather than spiraling confrontation.

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.

At a meeting in Auckland, New Zealand from 1-3 August, the Pacific Conference of Churches released texts on climate change and nuclear weapons, and issued calls to action related to human rights and other issues.

As the recent developments of nuclear weapons and increased tensions between United States and North Korea leaders can bring the world to the brink of war, churches around the world are calling for bilateral dialogue, expressing their commitment to peace and nonviolent resolution.

The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) is the latest participating organization to announce it will join, on 13 August, a “Sunday of Prayer for the Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula.”

Churches across the world are invited to show solidarity with Korean churches by joining the prayer, based on Romans 14:19: “Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.”

In einem dringenden Brief an den südkoreanischen Präsidenten Moon Jae-In fordert der Nationale Kirchenrat von Korea (NCCK) sofortigen Dialog, um die militärischen Spannungen auf der koreanischen Halbinsel zu mindern.

In an emergency letter to South Korean president Moon Jae-In, the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) urged immediate dialogue to ease military tension in the Korean Peninsula.

We stand on the threshold of hope for elimination of nuclear weapons in the world, as 122 nations recently have signed the treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons. However making this hope a reality requires the strong engagement of the religious communities, says Rev. Dr Peniel Rajkumar, WCC programme executive for Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation.

In the wake of new sanctions on North Korea that could reduce the country’s annual export revenues by one third, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit expressed concern over whether those sanctions demonstrate any positive impact in bringing a return to negotiations or preventing its development of nuclear weapons.

Security built on the assumption that the power to destroy serves the purpose of peace is unsafe security, states World Council of Churches (WCC) president for Europe and Archbishop emeritus Dr Anders Wejryd, adding that trust is necessary for a real peace.

Am 72. Jahrestag der Atombombenabwürfe über Hiroshima und Nagasaki kann die Welt auf einen neuen Vertrag hoffen, dessen Wortlaut von einer großen Mehrheit der Regierungen weltweit verhandelt und vereinbart wurde und Atomwaffen ächtet.

On the 72nd anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world can find hope in a new treaty, the text of which has been negotiated and agreed by a large majority of the world’s governments, to outlaw nuclear weapons.

Der Generalsekretär des Ökumenischen Rates der Kirchen (ÖRK), Pastor Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit, begann seine ökumenische Reise in die Pazifikregion am 29. Juli. Zunächst besuchte Tveit Maohi Nui (Französisch-Polynesien) und sprach vor der Synode der Evangelischen Kirche der Maohi. Die ÖRK-Delegation wird die Region vom 29. Juli bis 13. August bereisen.

The general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, opened his ecumenical tour of the Pacific region on 29 July. Tveit will visit Maohi Nui (the French Polynesia) first, and he addressed the Synod for the Maohi Protestant Church. The WCC delegation will visit the region 29 July to 13 August.

Nuclear weapons have always been seen as deeply immoral. Now, after years of work, 122 government have adopted a treaty that makes them completely illegal. The July 7th decision at theUnited Nations bans the manufacture, possession and use of nuclear weapons and provides pathways for their eventual elimination. World Council of Churches’ members are among the many groups and governments working towards this new international law for the past six years and more.