WCC NEWS: Joint working group between WCC, Roman Catholic Church shares prayers, publications

In a virtual meeting from 12-14 April, the Joint Working Group between the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches (WCC) shared prayers, made plans for joint publications, and planned the involvement of the Catholic Church in the WCC 11th Assembly in 2022. Image: WCC 15 April 2021 The group received an update from the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. “Since the outbreak of the pandemic most of the work with ecumenical partners has been undertaken using virtual means of communication while several meetings had to be canceled,” reads a communique from the meeting. In 2020, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity celebrated the 60th anniversary of its foundation. “Despite new challenges the ecumenical dialogues continue even though sometimes in a limited format,” reads the communique. The joint working group discussed and approved two documents with recommendations to the churches: “Peace is a Treasure for All – An Ecumenical Reflection on Peace Building in Situations of Conflict and Violence” and “Migrants and Refugees – Ecumenical Challenges and Opportunities.” Since the last meeting in Lyon in 2019, both documents have been revised and updated in light of the new situation caused by the pandemic. The joint working group received these documents and recommended presenting them to the parent bodies. Members also discussed the Tenth Report to be issued at the end of the current mandate. The joint working group also discussed the involvement of the Catholic Church in the WCC 11th Assembly in 2022 as well as the process of building a new joint working group after the assembly.   Read the Communique of the meeting See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 350 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 550 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC acting general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, from the Orthodox Church in Romania. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland