During an ecumenical morning prayer held 15 May, the World Council of Churches (WCC) staff and partners observed the UN International Day of Living Together in Peace, holding in prayer many nations across the world facing challenges to living together in harmony.
On the International Day of Living Together in Peace declared by the United Nations, members of the World Council of Churches (WCC) fellowship from countries troubled by war and conflict gathered to pray for sustainable peace in the world.
While violence against women is rampant in situations of war and oppression, women often take the lead standing up against injustice. The courage shown by mothers and grandmothers of the disappeared during Argentina's Dirty War period (1976-83) is an example and a challenge for us today.
Si les violences envers les femmes sont monnaie courante dans les situations de guerre et d’oppression, les femmes n’en prennent pas moins fréquemment l’initiative de s’élever contre l’injustice. Le courage affiché par les mères et les grands-mères des disparu-e-s de la «guerre sale» en Argentine (1976-1983) a été qualifié d’exemple et de défi par les responsables du COE.
Forty years after the Soweto uprising, leaders of churches in conflict-torn countries gathered in South Africa to study the ways of peace and reconciliation.
On the world scale of countries with plentiful water, Brazil comes out in the top league. It has 12 percent of the world’s fresh water supplies. Yet Magali do Nascimento Cunha does not see her country scoring so well when it comes to water and sanitation distribution.
Dans le classement des pays qui disposent de beaucoup d’eau, le Brésil s’inscrit parmi les plus favorisés. Il dispose de 12% des réserves mondiales d’eau douce. Pourtant, pour Magali do Nascimento Cunha, la situation n’est pas aussi brillante des points de vue de la distribution d’eau et de la disponibilité d’installations sanitaires.
When Fernando Enns thinks of water in a German context, he is reminded of thousands and thousands of refugees who have come to the country fleeing the conflict in Syria.
WCC support for churches’ struggles during the years of dictatorship in Argentina was praised by Aldo M. Etchegoyen, bishop emeritus of the Evangelical Methodist Church of Argentina.
Youth representing ecumenical networks have been vocal in addressing social, economic and environmental issues at the World Youth Day, a Roman Catholic Church event, which gathered more than a million participants in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The moderator of the WCC Central Committee addressed a plenary session at the general assembly of the Latin American Council of Churches on 23 May in Havana, Cuba.
