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People from a variety of faith traditions gather at the United Nations climate summit COP28

As COP28 concludes, WCC general secretary urges: “we, as people of faith, must continue to nurture hope”

Though COP28 failed to produce a credible plan to phase out fossil fuels, there is still reason for hope that the world can move toward climate justice, said World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay as COP28 concluded.

14 December 2023

Moderator of Central Committee

Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm: "The Word of God: Compass for Our Time"

"The Word of God: Compass for Our Time", reflection by the World Council of Churches moderator Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm during at the International Meeting for Peace held on 10-12 September in Berlin, Germany.

13 September 2023

A World Free From Nuclear Weapons is Possible: Remarks by Peter Prove at "The Audacity of Peace" meeting

A World Free From Nuclear Weapons is Possible: remarks by Peter Prove, Director of the WCC's Commission of the Churches on International Affairs at the International Meeting for Peace: Religions and Cultures in Dialogue "The Audacity of Peace", Berlin, 10-12 September 2023.

11 September 2023

WCC Programmes

Commission on International Affairs

“Imagining a Safer World”, address by Peter Prove at “Churches Together South Australia”

Address of Peter Prove, WCC director of international affairs on “Imagining a Safer World” at a “Churches Together South Australia” event on 13 August 2023.

14 August 2023

Feature story

World desperately needs young leadership, UN refugee chief tells young Christians, Jews, and Muslims

The world needs young leadership very badly because those from the older generation have not delivered, the head of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has told young Christian, Jewish, and Muslim participants at the Emerging Peacemakers Forum.

14 July 2023

Moderator of Central Committee

Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm: "Just Peace through Military Force? Peace Ethical Considerations in Light of the War of Aggression against Ukraine"

Lecture of the World Council of Churches central committee moderator Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm delivered at the Kitzingen deanery, a regional church district near Würzburg, Germany.

22 May 2023

Statement: public statement

Christian Witness and Action for Human Dignity and Human Rights (statement)

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to let the oppressed go free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.

(Luke 4:18-19)

The current global context is marked by escalating conflicts, divisions, inequalities, resurgent racism, xenophobic attacks on migrants, antisemitism, violations of the rights of women and other forms of discrimination, threats against human rights defenders, as well as authoritarianism, populist nationalism, and religious and other forms of extremism, that threaten grave peril for the physical security and human dignity and rights of diverse communities and individuals around the world.

12 November 2022

Executive committee

Statement: public statement

War in Ukraine, Peace and Justice in the European Region

"War in Ukraine, Peace and Justice in the European Region", statement by the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany

08 September 2022

Assembly

Publication

Strengthening Christian Perspectives Cover

Strengthening Christian Perspectives on Human Dignity and Human Rights

Perspectives from an International Consultative Process

The WCC, the Protestant Church in Germany and the United Evangelical Mission, initiated a two-year process of ecumenical study and reflection on the relationship between human dignity and human rights from biblical, theological, and victims’ perspectives, culminating in a Conference on Christian Perspectives on Human Dignity and Humans Rights held in Wuppertal (Germany) and online from 9–12 April 2022.

This publication consists of papers received from theologians, people with different academic backgrounds, experts in ethics and human rights, and human rights defenders—together with the joint message of the conference participants.

19 August 2022

Interview

Man dressed in Orthodox religious garb speaking at podium.

Fr Ioan Sauca: “God is on the side of those who are suffering”

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has, since the first day of the war in Ukraine and even in the months before, been working and praying earnestly for peace in this conflict and throughout the world. From the beginning, the WCC has called for an immediate end to armed hostilities, to stop the war and has appealed also for an immediate end to indiscriminate attacks with an escalating impact on civilians in Ukraine. WCC News met online with the WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca to get the latest update on the work of the WCC.

14 April 2022

Message

Strengthening Christian Commitment to Human Dignity and Human Rights

Message of the conference "Christian Perspectives on Human Dignity and Human Rights", organised jointly by WCC, UEM and EKD, gathering 47 participants from 22 countries in Wuppertal (Germany) and online from 9 to 12 April 2022.

13 April 2022

Ecumenical movement

Blog post

Why theology must occupy social media

I see five imperatives for theologians (prophetic, pastoral and priestly), to occupy the social media space, which is currently dominated by politics (politricks), business (including profiteers), entertainers (artists, sports, etc.), economists, lawyers, etc.

10 January 2022

Kenneth Mtata

Interview

H.E. Cardinal Silvano M. Tomasi reflects on moving towards a nuclear-free world

In an exclusive interview with the World Council of Churches, H.E. Cardinal Silvano M. Tomasi reflects on the the global conversation about a world free from nuclear weapons, and how churches can get involved. He also shares his insights on strategies to decrease the funds allocated to the arms race and dedicate them to economic recovery.

18 February 2021

Feature story

Religious leaders speak out against violence at US Capitol: “Our democracy is under siege”

As mob violence took over the US Capitol on 6 January, churches in the USA spoke out against the threat against the integrity of democracy.

07 January 2021

Photo: Bonhoeffer Bildarchive and Gütersloher Verlagshaus

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Critical Prophet of the Ecumenical Movement

Seventy-five years ago, on 9 April 1945, the German Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, with six other members of the conspiracy to overthrow Adolf Hitler, was hanged at Flossenbürg execution camp in Germany. He was 39.

10 April 2020

Economist Barbara Ward (first row) addressed the Sodepax conference held in Beirut in April 1968. Photo: WCC

On Moltmann, Sodepax and the Ecumenical Origins of Liberation Theology

Jürgen Moltmann looked astonished when he saw his name on the list of contributors. In a recent dinner at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey, my colleague Stephen Brown, the editor of The Ecumenical Review, surprised him with a 50-year old brochure.

08 January 2020

Nathan Söderblom – the man who “envisioned a new way of being church”

The First World War had started, and the planet was in crisis when he became Archbishop of Uppsala in 1914, but through it all, ecumenical trailblazer and peace-seeker Nathan Söderblom envisioned a new way for the church, a man who acted.

04 June 2019

Photo: Albin Hillert/World Council of Churches

Hostilities in Gaza ‘morally and ethically untenable,’ religious leaders state

On 8 May, the WCC, Middle East Council of Churches, and ACT Alliance released a message expressing deep concern over the latest hostilities in the Gaza Strip, describing the present situation as “morally and ethically untenable.” Last weekend, the region near the Israel-Gaza border saw the most intense escalation of violence since the 2014 war.

08 May 2019