News & Events
WCC Central Committee calls for self-critical introspection on religion and violenceIn a public statement adopted on 28 June, the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) has designated “peace-building in the context of religion and violence” as the special thematic focus for 2017. |
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Lebanon’s Tarek Mitri: a Christian in the public sphere of Middle East politicsTarek Mitri knows that his identity as a Christian affects what people expect of him. The Lebanese academic, whose career has spanned politics, diplomacy and a stint on the staff of the World Council of Churches, has learned to handle reactions from people who have set ideas about what he will, and should, say on public issues. |
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Is there hope for the Middle East?War, ethnic conflict, millions of refugees and a deteriorating humanitarian situation provide a bleak background for discussion of the Middle East. |
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Gathering envisions new day of truth and reconciliation in South Africa and beyondForty years after the Soweto uprising, leaders of churches in conflict-torn countries gathered in South Africa to study the ways of peace and reconciliation. |
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Peace, health and education are Gaza's futureOperating in an area where the needs for humanitarian assistance are enormous and where 43 percent of the population is unemployed – of which 80 percent are youth – has its challenges. Thousands of destroyed homes, a damaged infrastructure, frequent power cuts and a continued blockade don’t make life easy for the 1.8 million inhabitants in tiny Gaza - one of the most densely populated, self-governing territories in the world. |
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Syrian crisis poses challenges in Palestinian refugee campsDuring the 29 years Virgine Nasrawi has worked in the Talbiah refugee camp, located 40 kilometers south of Amman, the Jordanian capital, she has witnessed many changes. And the sudden influx of refugees from neighbouring Syria, caused by the devastating civil war in that country, is the most dramatic. |
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WCC: Israeli treatment of representatives at airport unacceptableAfter traveling to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv in the last week for a climate justice meeting, World Council of Churches staff and partners were detained or deported in a manner that WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit terms both unprecedented and intolerable. |
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WCC statement expresses shock at latest violence in SyriaThe WCC general secretary issued a statement urging the international community to put an end to the “culture of impunity” in Syria. The statement comes on the heels of news reports from Syria of an air strike that targeted the Kammouneh Syrian refugee camp, killing at least 28 people and severely injuring dozens of others. |
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Tveit shares with festival goers: “change is possible”At the Wider Outlook Works Festival, as people observed the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, the WCC general secretary spoke about repentance and a change to a better direction. |
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Palestinian Christians face loss of landA crane began lowering 12-meter concrete slabs into place in the Cremisan Valley, near Bethlehem in occupied Palestine on 6 April, marking the final phase of construction of an extension to the Israeli separation barrier. The World Council of Churches, through its Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), has been alongside the affected Palestinian community in the valley, both Christian and Muslim, throughout their legal struggle to stop the construction. |
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Churches of the Holy Land attend summit in the United StatesLeaders from churches in the Holy Land met with the heads of faith-based organizations and churches in Atlanta, Georgia (United States) on 19-20 April for a summit that explored the role of US churches in peacemaking in the Middle East. |
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هند خوري: يناضل الفلسطينيون من أجل تحقيق عدالة المياه لأن الإسرائيليين يهيمنون على موارد المياهمن وجهة نظر السيدة هند خوري أن مسألة تحقيق عدالة المياه هى مسألة بسيطة للغاية. |
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Palestinians fight for water justice as Israelis dominate resources, says KhouryFor Hind Khoury the issue of water justice is quite simple. She believes there is no water justice in Palestine because access to clean water for drinking and sanitation exists in Israel but not in the Palestinian territories it occupies. |
Israeli settlers break into Joseph Tomb in West BankSome 1,000 illegal settlers, escorted by Israeli soldiers, have stormed Joseph's Tomb on the outskirts of Nablus, during the early hours of 7 April, the AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA) reports. |
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Latin Patriarchate disapproves construction work on the wall in CremisanThe Israeli authorities have restarted construction work on the separation wall in the Cremisan beginning April 2016. Once the home of centuries-old olive trees, an eight-feet wall now snakes through the village cutting off farmers from lands, children from schools, and people from people. |
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Greek foreign minister visits WCC with continued concern for refugeesDeputy Foreign Minister Ioannis Amanatidis from Greece met with WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit on 8 April 2016. Amanatidis expressed the Greek government’s warm thanks for the WCC’s cooperation and solidarity with Greece, and requested continued support for Greece’s efforts to face an unprecedented refugee crisis. |
WCC, Pax Christi International call for negotiations to end conflict in SyriaNegotiations should end the conflict and bring political transition in Syria, urged the World Council of Churches and Pax Christi International in a joint statement issued 15 March. |
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WCC supports joint appeal for humanitarian access in SyriaThe World Council of Churches announced its support of a joint appeal for humanitarian access in Syria initiated by the Norwegian Refugee Council and UNICEF, and signed by dozens of humanitarian agencies worldwide. |
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Dialogue between faiths in Cyprus discussed as vital modelThe value of dialogue among religious leaders in Cyprus goes beyond its shores and can become a model for the Middle East and other regions, said Greek Orthodox Bishop Porfyrios of Neapolis and Turkish mufti Dr Talip Atalay. |
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Water justice campaign highlights range of issues, focuses on Palestine this year, says EWN coordinatorThe WCC’s Seven Weeks for Water Lenten campaign through its ecumenical initiative — Ecumenical Water Network — has gained much attention recently, but the campaign is not new. |