After praying the Easter season Marian prayer of the Regina Coeli with pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis recalled the reconciliation worked by Christ in His death and Resurrection.
The Pope urged Christians to overcome any mentality that seeks recourse to division and war with the power of Christ’s proclamation of reconciliation.
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“ I wish to express my sincere condolences on the loss of your staff 11 April in Mariupol”, Sauca wrote. “We join your community in prayer for the families of those who you lost and with those continuing to provide the much needed humanitarian relief in Ukraine.”
Sauca concluded: “We join in calling for a cease-fire in Ukraine, for humanitarian corridors to be opened and respected, and for sustained negotiations for a secure and just peace, to bring an end to this suffering.”
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The conference, “Christian Perspectives on Human Dignity and Human Rights”, was organized jointly by the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA), United Evangelical Mission, and Evangelical Church in Germany.
The message calls on churches to “rediscover the rich biblical narratives that affirm human dignity, justice and the rule of law,” and urges “further theological reflection and discernment for responsible action.”
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Greeting Polish pilgrims gathered in the Paul VI Hall for the weekly General Audience, Pope Francis noted that many Polish nationals are approaching Easter as the war in neighbouring Ukraine continues to rage.
Poland has opened its doors to more than 2.5 million Ukrainian refugees since the Russian invasion on 24 February.
Over 300,000 Ukrainians, of which 100,000 are children, have found refuge in Warsaw alone. Authorities and civil society organizations are engaged in providing the support they need to continue their lives, and already 15,000 Ukrainian refugees are enrolled in Polish schools.
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“Jerusalem is sacred,” declared WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca. “It is sacred for all three monotheistic religions, and access to Jerusalem is an inalienable right for all people of these faiths. Christians have been living on this land and witnessing to the resurrection of Jesus Christ for more than 2000 years.
The resurrection is at the heart of our Christian faith and at the heart of all Christian communities in the world. We cannot accept measures that challenge the fundamental rights of our churches to celebrate this centre point of our faith.”
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Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC
The World Council of Churches (WCC) has, since the first day of the war in Ukraine and even in the months before, been working and praying earnestly for peace in this conflict and throughout the world.
From the beginning, the WCC has called for an immediate end to armed hostilities, to stop the war and has appealed also for an immediate end to indiscriminate attacks with an escalating impact on civilians in Ukraine.
WCC News met online with the WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca to get the latest update on the work of the WCC.
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Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, acting general secretary, World Council of Churches.Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC
As the war wages on in Ukraine and the massacres continue, Pope Francis has appealed for a truce in the war-ravaged nation this Easter.
During his remarks prior to the recitation of the Angelus prayer this Palm Sunday, the Pope exclaimed, “Let the weapons be put down! Let the Easter truce begin.”
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Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata, general secretary of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches: “As human beings we share our life together – and the way we organize that life must recognize the dignity of every person”. Follow “Christian Perspectives on Human Rights” live: 11 April 13.30 CET.
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This Easter initiative 2022 by the WCC Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel seeks to connect the sacredness of Jerusalem with what is sacred to us as human beings: home, worship, family, identity, human dignity and life, and solidarity.
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The Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe – CCME will soon release a statement that speaks about the response of Europe to refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine. The statement will also address the concerns of discriminatory treatment of non-Ukrainians and minority ethnic people in this context and the more general question that the generosity shown in recent weeks often has not been extended to those fleeing from elsewhere.
Below, Dr Torsten Moritz, general secretary at the Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe, reflects on why church leaders requested such a statement, and what lies at the heart of some of their different inputs.
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