Churches urged to renew action for peace and healing
-19/09/05
Churches have a special responsibility to further reconciliation in broken societies and to promote peace, say the leaders of the World Council of Churches (WCC), which brings together the major Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican faith communities across the globe, and associates closely with the Roman Catholic Church.
The 25-member WCC executive committee was meeting at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute, near Geneva, from 13-16 September 2005, in its last full gathering prior to the WCC 9th Assembly in Brazil in 2006.
In a policy statement on the dangerous proliferation of small arms and light weapons, the WCC urged churches to exercise their ìunique potentialî to curb demand for guns and ìto affirm God’s vision of life in peace and fullnessî by ìchanging public attitudes, shaping community values and becoming a public voice against gun violence.î
Small arms are used in the vast majority of the estimated 350,000 of violent deaths throughout the world annually. In 2006, the WCC will lead an ecumenical delegation at the United Nations Small Arms Review Conference.
Referring to the critical situation in Haiti, the WCC also expressed its solidarity with the churches there and its ìconcern for the current unstable political situationî, as well as the extreme poverty, violence and human suffering experienced by the population.
The World Council of Churches has closely followed developments in Haiti in recent years and has led ecumenical efforts for mediation and healing in the divided society. The WCC general secretary, the Rev Dr Samuel Kobia, met with church and political leaders in Haiti in August 2005.
In his report to the WCC executive on the consequences of Hurricane Katrina, which ravaged the southern USA in early September, Dr Kobia declared: ìThe disaster Ö exposes profound weaknesses and wounds in American society, and pertinent questions of racism, poverty and the impact of global warming, which need to be addressed with urgency and determination.î
He concluded: ìThe disaster confronts us with the vulnerability of power, and should challenge states to shift policies and reconsider international relationships.î
In 2001 the WCC launched a Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV), to work with the churches in taking the public vocation of peacemaking with renewed seriousness.
Churches urged to renew action for peace and healing
-19/09/05
Churches have a special responsibility to further reconciliation in broken societies and to promote peace, say the leaders of the World Council of Churches (WCC), which brings together the major Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican faith communities across the globe, and associates closely with the Roman Catholic Church.
The 25-member WCC executive committee was meeting at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute, near Geneva, from 13-16 September 2005, in its last full gathering prior to the WCC 9th Assembly in Brazil in 2006.
In a policy statement on the dangerous proliferation of small arms and light weapons, the WCC urged churches to exercise their ‘unique potential’ to curb demand for guns and ‘to affirm God’s vision of life in peace and fullness’ by ‘changing public attitudes, shaping community values and becoming a public voice against gun violence.’
Small arms are used in the vast majority of the estimated 350,000 of violent deaths throughout the world annually. In 2006, the WCC will lead an ecumenical delegation at the United Nations Small Arms Review Conference.
Referring to the critical situation in Haiti, the WCC also expressed its solidarity with the churches there and its ‘concern for the current unstable political situation’, as well as the extreme poverty, violence and human suffering experienced by the population.
The World Council of Churches has closely followed developments in Haiti in recent years and has led ecumenical efforts for mediation and healing in the divided society. The WCC general secretary, the Rev Dr Samuel Kobia, met with church and political leaders in Haiti in August 2005.
In his report to the WCC executive on the consequences of Hurricane Katrina, which ravaged the southern USA in early September, Dr Kobia declared: ‘The disaster Ö exposes profound weaknesses and wounds in American society, and pertinent questions of racism, poverty and the impact of global warming, which need to be addressed with urgency and determination.’
He concluded: ‘The disaster confronts us with the vulnerability of power, and should challenge states to shift policies and reconsider international relationships.’
In 2001 the WCC launched a Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV), to work with the churches in taking the public vocation of peacemaking with renewed seriousness.