PRESS RELEASE
Catholicosate of Cilicia
Communication and Information Department
Contact: V.Rev.Fr. Krikor Chiftjian, Communications Officer
Tel: (04) 410001, 410003
Fax: (04) 419724
E- mail: [email protected]
Web:
PO Box 70 317
Antelias-Lebanon
Armenian version:
WCC EXECUTIVE URGES CHURCHES TO EXERCISE “UNIQUE POTENTIAL” FOR PEACE
WCC, 16/09/2005
Full text of WCC public statements available, see below
Churches must take responsibility to nurture healing in broken societies and
to promote peace, urged leaders of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in
public statements on Haiti and small arms released today.
The 25-member WCC executive committee was meeting at the WCC’s Bossey
Ecumenical Institute, near Geneva, 13-16 September 2005, in its last full
meeting prior to the WCC 9th Assembly in 2006.
> A public voice against gun violence
In a statement on small arms and light weapons, the WCC executive committee
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 the
world’s deaths by violence annually. In 2006, the WCC will lead an
ecumenical delegation at the United Nations Small Arms Review Conference.
> New social contract for Haiti
Referring to the critical situation in Haiti, the committee acknowledged the
“enormous challenges faced by the people and the witness of the churches in
the country”. It also underlined its “concern for the current unstable
political situation”, as well as the extreme poverty, violence and human
suffering experienced by the population.
The committee asked member churches to express solidarity and to support
churches in Haiti to develop a monitoring team during forthcoming elections.
Churches are called to “support processes towards genuine popular
participation and a new social contract” for the benefit of all, the
statement says.
The committee called on the churches in Haiti to “intensify ecumenical
initiatives” for justice, peace and reconciliation. The WCC 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 Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia met with church and political authorities in
Haiti in August 2005.
> Hurricane Katrina: the vulnerability of power
In his report to the committee, Kobia commented on the consequences of
Hurricane Katrina, which ravaged the southern USA in early September. “The
disaster has provoked widespread expressions of compassion and solidarity
among churches worldwide,” Kobia stated. “It also exposes profound weakneses
and wounds in American society, and pertinent questions of racism, poverty
and the impact of global warming, that need to be addressed with urgency and
determination. The disaster confronts us with the vulnerability of power,
and should challenge states to shift policies and reconsider international
relationships.”
> WCC programme and Assembly matters
The committee reviewed the Council’s programmatic work in 2005, and
evaluated major initiatives in the areas of mission and interreligious
dialogue. It also welcomed a continued stabilization in the financial
situation of the organization. Among key actions agreed by the executive
committee:
> WCC 9th Assembly
The executive committee finalized arrangements for the WCC 9th Assembly, to
be held in Porto Alegre, Brazil in February 2006. The committee confirmed
nominations made by member churches and reviewed plans for the agenda,
leadership and organization of the event, which is expected to gather over
3,000 church and ecumenical representatives from all regions.
Alongside work on themes such as church unity, economic justice and
overcoming violence, the committee proposed that the Assembly delegates also
focus on international issues, including the responsibility to protect, UN
reform, Latin America, and nuclear non-proliferation.
> Membership
The executive committee recommended that the Lao Evangelical Church, the
first from this country, be accepted for membership by the WCC central
committee in 2006. Six other applications for membership will also be
processed after the Assembly.
The committee supported the application of a series of church agencies and
organizations to be recognized by the central committee as “specialized
ministries in working relationship with the WCC” under new rules taking
effect in 2006.
> Alliance for development
Plans for a new global ecumenical platform for development, involving the
WCC, were affirmed, and greater consultation and information-sharing within
the WCC constituency was encouraged.
Concluding the meeting of the executive committee, the general secretary
expressed his thanks to the officers and members of the committee, and
particularly to the moderator Catholicos Aram I, for his “wise counsel,
theological depth and grasp of global issues,” which guided the Council over
the last seven years.
The full text of the statement on Small Arms and Light Weapons:
The full text of the statement on Haiti:
tml
##
The Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia is one of the two Catholicosates of
the Armenian Orthodox Church. For detailed information about the Ecumenical
activities of the Cilician Catholicosate, you may refer to the web page of
the Catholicosate, The Cilician Catholicosate, the
administrative center of the church is located in Antelias, Lebanon.