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What has contributed to the idea of a “European identity?” And, within a broad-minded vision of secularism, how can churches and other religious communities contribute? In this context, what is the role of Switzerland?

Future collaborative work of the Roman Catholic Church with the WCC was the focus of the latest meeting of executives of their Joint Working Group in Geneva.

The WCC has engaged with the Office for Genocide Prevention and the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers to promote a regional meeting in the Americas discussing the role of religious leaders in preventing incitements to violence that may lead to infractions categorized in international law as “atrocity crimes”: war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity and crimes of aggression.

As WCC programme executive for Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation, Rev. Dr Peniel Rajkumar describes himself as a bridge between WCC member churches and Eastern Religions, in particular the Hindu and Buddhist religious traditions.

To promote open discussions on the theological and practical discourse, narrative and experiences on implications for the work of the multi-religious organizations on religion, violence and extremism, the WCC, along with the General Board of Church and Society of The United Methodist Church and the General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists held a Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-Based Organizations in International Affairs.

WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit commended the release of the Marrakesh Declaration on the Rights of Religious Minorities in Predominantly Muslim Majority Communities.

An international conference held at the invitation of the Foreign Minister of the Hellenic Republic, Nikos Kotzias, has gathered around 70 prominent religious, political and academic figures in Athens, Greece, this week.

In a recent statement, religious leaders called for an ambitious climate agreement, reminding all governments to commit to emission cuts and climate risk reduction. They promised to continue working for climate justice, including divestment from fossil energy.

Interview with the WCC general secretary, who is currently in Brasilia, about violence committed in the name of religion, human rights and climate justice in Brazil.

Expressing shock at the killings in Kuwait, Tunisia and France that took place on 26 June, the WCC acting general secretary Georges Lemopoulos said, “I grieve with those who have lost loved ones, and those who have been injured as a result of these appalling acts, which have marred the month of Ramadan, sacred to Muslims everywhere.”

Young ecumenical leaders from Asia have met in Siam Reap, Cambodia to examine how religious traditions can offer resources to overcome religious violence in a changing Asian context.

Dialogue with Judaism challenges Christians to think more deeply about their own identity and faith, according to panelists at a forum during the German Protestant Kirchentag, a church convention that brought almost 100,000 people to the city of Stuttgart.

Members of the WCC Commission on Youth (ECHOS), visited Al Azhar Mosque and University on 12 May for a meeting with the grand sheikh and the Egyptian minister of Religious Affairs.

The WCC is inviting young adults from Asian churches to participate in a two-week-long training programme called Youth in Asia Training for Religious Amity. The deadline to submit applications is 31 March.

Outcomes, disappointments, as well as encouraging signs from the United Nations Climate Change Conference and the Peoples Summit held late last year in Lima, Peru, were discussed at length by representatives of faith communities.

The newly published issue of Current Dialogue is now available online. Along with key documents from the WCC 10th Assembly, the issue includes several strong pieces addressing some thorny issues in contemporary inter-religious encounter and dialogue, including the recent Malaysian prohibition of Christian use of the name Allah for God, the relationship of ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue, the particular difficulties in dialogue among the Abrahamic traditions, and the limits of dialogue itself.

A declaration issued on 2 December by religious leaders calling for the eradication of slavery has prompted an expression of appreciation from the WCC. The declaration, issued at the Vatican, brings together signatories from the Catholic and two WCC member churches: Anglican and Orthodox, with Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim leaders who signed a joint declaration of commitment against modern slavery.

In South Asia, where conflicts are often fueled by religion, a WCC conference stressed the role of Christians and Hindus as eminent stakeholders in their common search for justice and peace – beyond majority and minority politics.