Report of the Acting General Secretary to the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches,Karlsruhe, 2022

This is the text of the report on 31 August 2022 of the acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) to the WCC's 11th Assembly, which took place in Karlsruhe, Germany, from 31 August to 8 September 2022.     

Christ's Love Moves the World to Reconciliation and Unity

This is the text of a Unity Statement approved on 8 September 2022 by the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, which met in Karlsruhe, Germany, from 31 August to 8 September 2022. Successive WCC assemblies have offered a statement to inspire the churches to reflect on why they have chosen to journey together and the significance of the call to unity.     

A Call to Act Together

This is the text of the message issued by the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, meeting in Karlsruhe, Germany, from 31 August to 8 September 2022. In their message, delegates stated that all are called by Christ's love to repentance, reconciliation, and justice in the face of war, inequality, and sins against creation.     

The Liberating Awareness

The purpose of this article is to reflect on the search for racial justice as a call from God, using biblical readings and documents produced by the World Council of Churches (WCC). It is anchored in the increasingly intense challenges that emerge in this respect in Brazil, a country whose Indigenous peoples were annihilated in its colonization process, and which up until the 19th century received the largest flow of enslaved Africans in the world. The article combines the Latin American methodology “See, Judge, Act” with the theological methodology of the WCC's Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace and its three steps: “Celebrating Gifts,” “Visiting the Wounds,” and “Transforming Injustice.” The first part of the paper reflects the “See” and exposes the expressions of everyday racism in Brazil. The second part presents the “Judge,” seeking references to the challenge of racial justice in the Bible and in ecumenical reflection. The third and final section, “Act,” reflects on the possibility for transforming racial injustices, sharing experiences from Brazil as well as one of the Pilgrim Team Visits organized by the WCC in 2019.     

Greeting of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches

This is the text of the greetings of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, meeting in Karlsruhe, Germany, from 31 August to 8 September 2022.     

Message of Pope Francis to the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches

This is the text of the message of greetings of His Holiness Pope Francis to the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, meeting in Karlsruhe, Germany, from 21 August to 8 September 2022.     

The Future of Multilateral Ecumenical Dialogue

This article offers an overview of work undertaken in multilateral ecumenical dialogue, as it has been conducted at the international level by the commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches (WCC), to clarify the issues discussed in this dialogue and the methods used. In particular, the article analyzes the statements on unity made at various WCC assemblies. While they demonstrate a certain continuity regarding the key points of church unity they identify, they clearly mark a shift in the overall understanding of how unity is conceived. The second part of the article examines the current ecumenical situation and its importance for this dialogue, to show how Faith and Order has responded and what further progress in multilateral dialogue might look like.     

“And Yet It Moves”: Dream and Reality of the Ecumenical Movement

This article offers an overview of the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, which met in Karlsruhe, Germany, in August–September 2022. It sets out the context in which the assembly took place, the main issues discussed, and perspectives for the future. The article argues that the assembly in Karlsruhe demonstrated that the ecumenical movement still is alive and can offer enormous potential in a world at the brink of a new East–West divide, facing a significant weakening of multilateral structures of cooperation, and even the threat of nuclear war. Moreover, the Karlsruhe assembly demonstrated that on subjects such as the Middle East, peace ethics, and nationalism, and in the deep commitment and spiritual life of its participants, the ecumenical movement is vital and vibrant and represents a countercultural force against rigid nationalisms.     

Message from the Ecumenical Youth Gathering

This is the message of the Ecumenical Youth Gathering held in advance of the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, which met in Karlsruhe, Germany, in August–September 2022. In their message, the youth voiced a series of laments, and recognized and prayed for justice, forgiveness, and reconciliation of the wounds the church has inflicted and continues to inflict in the world, and they called on the WCC to provide a meaningful space for an equal representation of young people in all its processes.     

A Plea for Internormative Ethics

Plurality of life forms and value systems is a given (almost) everywhere on earth. Imposing on them a value system or individual values and virtues from an exterior position is rather counterproductive. Value systems are normative for individual communities but not the same. They are to relate to each other and to interact, negotiating with each other common goals and the validity and limits of values involved in their relationships and shared action. Anything else leads to tensions and violence. Internormative ethics reflect on such interaction of value systems.     

Freedom,Love, and Justice

This article starts from love as being a fundamental value, guiding modes of behaviour that establish a reliable framework and basis for the recognition of the rights and dignity of everyone in the community. The affirmation of justice and freedom based on love leads to corrective and transformative action in cases where life is threatened and rights are being violated. Drawing on the experience and witness of Martin Luther King Jr, the article underlines that love empowers the oppressed to stand up and becomes a moral imperative for change, against the background of the many forces promoting conflict and violence, division, and polarization. The power of love is a message to the world, to the powerful, and to the powerless – to all who long for a different reality from what we see in today’s world. This needs to be expressed in the quest for the unity of the church and the unity of humankind, serving the sustainability and unity of God’s creation.     

Ecumenism and Evangelicalism: Where Are We?

While the ecumenical movement, and particularly the World Council of Churches, must always be an inclusive forum where the richness of the total life of the Christian church is manifest, this article argues that evangelicals cannot give up the quest for church unity because that would mean ignoring a central aspect of the prayer of Jesus Christ. Looking at areas of convergence between the evangelical and the ecumenical movement, four areas are identified for further cooperation and dialogue: the authority of the Bible; mobilizing all churches for the evangelization of the whole world; the perspective of the poor; and the challenge of justice and peace.     

Address of the Federal President to the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Karlsruhe, 2022

This is the text of the address of Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the opening of the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches on 31 August 2022, in Karlsruhe.     

Message from the Just Community of Women and Men Pre-Assembly Meeting

This is the message of the meeting on the Just Community of Women and Men held prior to the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, which met in Karlsruhe, Germany, in August–September 2022. The pre-assembly noted the continuing and even exacerbated tragedy of gender-based violence and abuse in multiple forms, in all regions, and within and outside churches. The report acknowledges that sociocultural realities that impose themselves on religious lives distort God's vision of life in fullness, abundance, and love. In this context, patriarchy hurts and exploits women, men, and people of all genders.     

Emilio Castro: A Passion for the Gospel

This article reviews the role of Emilio Castro as general secretary of the World Council of Churches (1985–1992), highlighting his involvement in the Conciliar Process for Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation; his appreciation for Orthodox spirituality and theology; and his commitment to strengthening relationships with Pentecostals and evangelicals.     

Message from the Indigenous Peoples Pre-Assembly Meeting

This is the message from the meeting of Indigenous Peoples held before the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, which met in Karlsruhe, Germany, in August–September 2022. The Indigenous Peoples Pre-Assembly Meeting gathered participants from 40 different Indigenous nations who called on the WCC and its member churches to support them in their journeys to recover their God-given identities, stating in the message that “the road to reconciliation leads through restoration of justice, because without justice, we cannot stand as equals.”     

Walking Together,Serving Justice and Peace

As the World Council of Churches (WCC) marks its 70th anniversary, this article focuses on the challenges it faces in its commitment to work for the unity of the church and for common service and witness for justice and peace in the world. Looking back on the experiences in the Reformation year 2017, it argues that it is time for the fellowship of churches to be accountable for what it has achieved and received from ecumenical dialogue, and to grow together in mutual accountability. At the same time, the statement by the WCC's 10th Assembly at Busan that “We intend to move together” emphasizes that ecumenism is not a static reality, but dynamic, involving the cooperation of the various churches and in interaction with people of good will of other communities.     

Samuel Kobia: Ecumenical,Passionate, Peacemaker

This article discusses the role played by Samuel Kobia in the ecumenical movement and the World Council of Churches, of which he was general secretary from 2004 to 2009, and his involvement in peacemaking and mediation in Africa, especially in his home country of Kenya, in Sudan, and in South Sudan.     

Women’s Ministry in Ecumenical Perspective

Although discussion about the ministry of women seems to have come to a standstill as a result of arguments that don’t seem to change, the actual practices of the churches have evolved beyond doctrinal positions. In the Roman Catholic Church, many women have been appointed to positions in pastoral care and education, and even to decision‐making bodies. In the Orthodox Church, prerogatives previously reserved for nuns are beginning to be applied to lay women. But if we can entrust women with pastoral responsibilities, why is it not possible to move to include them in priestly ministry? To answer this question, we need to analyze the implicit levels of refusing the priesthood to women.     

Message from the Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network Pre-Assembly Meeting

This is the message of the meeting of the Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network held before the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Karlsruhe, Germany, August–September 2022. The network recognized the God-given gifts of people with disabilities and the importance of making available those gifts for the body of Christ to function fully. It called on churches to continue to develop and encourage more people with disabilities to be involved in church leadership at local and denominational levels, and for wider representation in WCC assemblies and activities, especially for non-speaking people: people who communicate through alternative and augmentative devices and people who are neurodivergent, have learning disabilities, or have invisible disabilities.