WCC NEWS: WCC meets with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas on path to “work for justice and peace”

On 24 November, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas formally received the acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca for a meeting to discuss just peace in Palestine and Israel.  24 November 2022, Beit Ramallah, Palestine: World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca (left) meets with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas (right). Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC 24 November 2022 The Palestinian president extended words of gratitude to al the churches for their ongoing support for Palestinian people. “We are one people,” said Abbas. “All churches are all our holy places.” Abbas noted that Jerusalem is a holy city for three religions. “A city for all and with space for all,” he said. “The occupation must come to an end and we have to coexist as neighbours and friends,” he said. Abbas concluded: “Come and visit us. Come and see. We need the solidarity from the churches worldwide.” Sauca, underscoring the president’s reflections, said that the role of churches is to give witness to the world and work for justice and peace. He described the WCC’s peace and reconciliation initiatives in the Middle East and beyond. Sauca noted: “We believe peace can be achieved only together with the other. We are called as a fellowship of churches to support the process of just peace.”  He added: “We believe and see that the local churches can and do play a role in promoting peace and justice on both sides of the conflict. It is important to strengthen the church and the Christian presence in the area, so that it can be a strong witness of peace. “No people should be denied their rights and, certainly, no people should be denied their rights for generations,” Sauca continued.  “The unresolved conflict in Israel and Palestine is primarily about justice, and until the requirement of justice is met, peace cannot be established,” he added. “As Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza nears the 55-year mark, generations have been suffering under this reality.”  Through the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), the WCC continues to provide, since 2002, a sense of peaceful security for children on their daily walk to school.  This year marks EAPPI’s 20th anniversary, and over those two decades, WCC member churches have recruited over 1,800 Ecumenical Accompaniers from 25 countries to serve 3-month terms in placements around the West Bank.  Sauca was accompanied in the meeting by Dr Audeh Quawas, member of the WCC executive committee; Marianne Ejdersten, WCC director communication; and Yusef Daher, coordinator of the Jerusalem Liaison Office.  In pursuit of just peace: WCC acting general secretary has historic meeting with Israeli president Isaac Herzog (WCC press release, 23 November 2022) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel commemorates 20-year anniversary: 1,800 accompaniers from 25 countries (WCC press release, 23 November 2022) Inaugural pre-meeting of WCC Jerusalem Liaison Advisory Committee convenes, maps future (WCC press release, 23 November 2022) Photos from the WCC visit to Holy Land, November 2022 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 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 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 Add us to your address book   You receive this information as a subscriber to WCC e-news.   You are registered with the address thenet26062@gmail.com Want to change the language or topics of mailings you receive from us? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from all mailings distributed by the WCC (including newsletters of the Ecumenical Water Network, PIEF, EAPPI, etc.) Der Ökumenische Rat der Kirchen (ÖRK) fördert die Einheit der Christen im Glauben, Zeugnis und Dienst für eine gerechte und friedliche Welt. 1948 als ökumenische Gemeinschaft von Kirchen gegründet, gehören dem ÖRK inzwischen 352 Mitgliedskirchen an, die zusammen über 580 Millionen Christen aus protestantischen, orthodoxen, anglikanischen und anderen Traditionen in mehr als 120 Ländern repräsentieren. Es gibt eine enge Zusammenarbeit mit der römisch-katholischen Kirche. Der geschäftsführende ÖRK-Generalsekretär ist Priester Prof. Dr. Ioan Sauca von der Rumänisch Orthodoxen Kirche. Unsere Besuchsadresse ist: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland