WCC NEWS: Nuclear justice in the Pacific: Churches do what governments often are not able to do

Tamatoa Tepuhiarii of Moruroa e Tātou nongovernmental organization and the Ètārētia Porotetani Māòhi (the Māòhi Protestant Church), currently pursuing PhD research on Nuclear Justice and Gender in the Sea of Islands (Pacific), was among the speakers at the World Council of Churches (WCC) cohosted side event at the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, addressing the human rights impacts of nuclear testing across the region. In this conversation, the WCC 11th Assembly youth delegate shares his view on the unique role churches can play in the pursuit of nuclear justice today. Tamatoa Tepuhiarii speaks at the World Council of Churches (WCC) cohosted side event at the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, addressing the human rights impacts of nuclear testing in Pacific. Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC 30 September 2026 It is nearly 30 years since France's last nuclear test in Moruroa/Māòhi Nui (French Polynesia) - what does justice still look like for the local communities affected? Tepuhiarii: Well, yes, definitely it has been more than 30 years, and this year particularly, it is 60 years since the first nuclear explosion on Moruroa atoll. At the moment, when it comes to justice for people, it's all related to compensation process. How people can get compensation - the former workers of nuclear sites, or their relatives or people who got cancer, radiation-induced cancer. But it is not limited to compensation. At the moment, we are also trying to educate more people about the nuclear issue, the nuclear history at different levels - and it has started in churches. And that's also a process of healing - when you are aware of what happened on your islands, on your territory, you're more able to go through the journey.   What can international organizations and bodies like the WCC do to support the nuclear justice going forward? Tepuhiarii: As I said, the work back in Māòhi Nui (French Polynesia) really started with the church advocacy and particularly the Ètārētia Porotetani Māòhi (the Māòhi Protestant Church), which is a part of the World Council of Churches. And that church also advocated since 1982 to formally declare in their synod that the nuclear testing program has a negative impact on our population and the environment. And it's against God's will, or God's teaching about peace, love, and unity. So it's all related to the civil society’s role - and work of the churches, and church institutions at the international level. This work goes further with international institutions such as the UN, but also with other international civil societies, such as ICAN, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.   What can you say about the unique role churches have addressing the nuclear justice issues - among other international and civil society organisations? Tepuhiarii: I guess the work that churches are doing back home on educating or advocating for justice is definitely related to what the politics, governments, or other colonial institutions are supposed to do but not fully able to provide for the communities and for the people. A lot of work on nuclear justice, nuclear advocacy, and education has been led by the churches and other civil society institutions. And that’s the process of how churches also convert words into action.   Your PhD research is also related to the nuclear justice in the Pacific — what does it reveal in the broader justice conversation? Tepuhiarii: It’s the first time that we have a research project at the international level talking straightly and directly about nuclear justice as an academic concept.  Most of the time, we are hearing about nuclear justice in civil society discussions, in institutions like the UN. When it comes to academics, it's the first time that we are having this academic perspective on nuclear justice on it. Other academics have shared their perspectives of nuclear justice as well.  That's what we want to provide – and not only at the academic level, but also how can we better support the nuclear-affected communities by listening and understanding - and also questioning and engaging - with their narratives, with their perspectives.   Photo gallery from the side-event on Nuclear Justice in Pacific at the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council 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 356 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 general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland

WCC NEWS: Women, children in Bethlehem plant seeds for just peace

The Arab Educational Institute and Pax Christi, through special activities for women and children, connected the World Council of Churches World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel with the Season of Creation. Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC 29 September 2026  At the Arab Educational Institute Sumud Story House, a women’s session brought together Muslim and Christian women from the community, focused on the themes of just peace, hope, solidarity, creation, sumud (perseverance) and the role of women in building peaceful communities. The women were invited to read posters, prepared for the session, containing short reflections and messages about peace, creation, hope, children, justice, and the importance of standing together. They paused, reflected, and shared their own thoughts and experiences. The posters also encouraged discussion about what peace means in their daily lives and how small actions can contribute to creating a more peaceful and supportive community.  The session then moved into a shared cooking activity—a cultural and social experience that brought the women closer together. They shared their knowledge, worked as a team, and enjoyed the process of preparing a traditional meal. After preparing the food, the women sat together and shared the meal as a group. This created a relaxed space for conversation, laughter, and connection. The shared meal highlighted the importance of food and hospitality in bringing people together and strengthening relationships within the community.  A children’s session was designed around the themes of just peace, childhood, hope, friendship, and living together in harmony in Palestine. The activities were planned to be fun and engaging while helping the children understand that peace is connected to safety, kindness, respect, friendship, and the right of every child to grow and live without fear. The session began with a creative coloring activity. Each child received a picture related to peace and harmony among people in Palestine. The children were encouraged to color the picture freely and use their imagination to represent what peace means to them. While the children were coloring, they were encouraged to think about questions such as what makes a person feel safe, what makes a community peaceful, and how children can show kindness to one another.  The children sang two songs related to peace and childhood. Singing together brought energy and enthusiasm to the session and allowed the children to express the themes of peace and hope in a fun and memorable way.  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 356 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 general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland

WCC news: African churches join eco-justice groups urging action on climate commitments

Faith leaders, faith-based organizations, and climate actors in Africa are demanding urgent implementation of existing climate commitments ahead of the 32nd Conference of the Parties (COP32) in November 2027 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Climate activists gathered to demand climate justice during the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27). Photo: © Valter Hugo Muniz/WCC 17 September 2026 In a new campaign titled “Africa Can’t Wait: Interfaith Voice for Just Climate,” faith communities said they were delivering climate action in the areas of adaptation, resilience, renewable energy, and clear cooking, restoration, and nature-based solutions. But droughts, floods, displacement, and loss and damage still devastated their communities, despite the interventions. Leading the campaign are, among others, ACT Alliance; GreenFaith Africa; All Africa Conference of Churches; Laudato Si’ Movement, a global Catholic environmental movement of over 900 organizations; Norwegian Church Aid Advocacy Programme for Africa; and Ethiopian Orthodox Church Development and Inter-church Aid Commission.   Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, general secretary of the ACT Alliance, said faith networks across Africa were not waiting for countries to turn climate commitments into action, but were supporting community adaption, building resilience, and implementing practical climate solutions through grants and local partnerships. “This gives us something powerful to bring to the global climate conversation: evidence of what just implementation can look like in practice, when communities are at the centre of designing and delivering solutions,” said de Faria in a news statement on 8 September. “For too long, much of this work has happened within individual faith networks, often without the opportunity to be seen collectively or connected to the wider climate policy debate.” Many of the solutions to Africa’s urgent climate crisis lay with African communities, said Guro Almas, programme director, Norwegian Church Aid Advocacy Programme Africa, and the communities now demand urgent action to finance African solutions and are no longer accepting empty promises or delays in implementing lifesaving commitments. “Through the Africa Can’t Wait campaign, Norwegian Church Aid and partners will pave the way for African faith leaders, youth, and communities to effectively demand justice, showcase their solutions, and influence global climate politics,” he said. According to Lorna Gold, executive director, Laudato Si’ Movement, Africa cannot keep paying the price for commitments that remain on paper. “For us as people of faith, climate action is not only about targets or negotiations. It is about protecting life, defending human dignity, and caring for our common home,” she said. Dr Tinashe Gumbo, All Africa Conference of Churches programme executive for ecological justice, welcomed the campaign as critical for faith actors in Africa, which has received several pledges from developed countries with little or no movement in terms of implementation. “We need to go beyond mere talk and pledges. Our people are dying daily because of droughts, floods, landslides, and other disasters. Thus, we welcome this campaign that will mobilize faith actors to apply more pressure on those responsible to help the situation,” said Gumbo. Africa cannot keep being invited to the table only to explain the damage climate change is doing to our people, said Dr Pius Oko, regional program manager, GreenFaith Africa. “We must be at the table to shape the decisions, the finance and the solutions,” said Oko. Care for creation and climate justice Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action   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 356 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 general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland

WCC news: Webinar asks what churches owe older people in an ageing world

Governments signed the United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030), a ten-year promise to act on growing old. On 16 September, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission of the Churches on Health and Healing asked where churches belong inside it, opening an online webinar that Dr Gisela Schneider said set European and African experience beside that of India and Hong Kong. Photo: Paul Jeffrey/Life on Earth Pictures 18 September 2026 Rev. Dr Fr Stavros Kofinas, moderator of the commission, said the churches’ first task is to make the change visible. “Our mission as churches is to bring these developments to the forefront so that people can become aware of them,” he said. Old age, he argued, is shaped by five pressures: digital technology, anxiety, anger, apathy, and an adolescence that stretches into adult life. Prof. Arvind Kasturi, professor of community health at St John’s Medical College, Bengaluru, set out five obstacles that stand between an older person and the care they need: access, awareness, affordability, the absence of trained health workers, and accountability. In India, the UN Population Fund counted about 149 million people aged 60 and over in 2022, a share it expects to pass 20 percent by 2050. “For an older person, it’s not enough to have an accessible health center. It’s also a question of who’s taking me there . . .” he said. Josephine Lee, chief executive officer of St James’ Settlement, the social service agency of the Anglican church in Hong Kong, described services from fitness coaching by younger retirees to end-of-life care at home. One in four people in Hong Kong is now aged 65 or over. She asked churches to stop sorting people by age. “Why can’t we have a Sunday school for the elderly and the young together . . .” she said. Schneider, who co-chairs the Commission’s Working Group on Access and Health Systems, said churches should argue with governments over who pays. “It makes us aware that health financing cannot start at the end of life,” she said. Risk sharing, she added, “has to go across generations, and it cannot be left to private insurances.” Webinar will explore “Care of the Elderly: Challenges and Opportunities in an Ageing World”,  WCC Health and Healing programme #WCC Webinar: “Care of the Elderly: Challenges and Opportunities in an Ageing World” 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 356 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 general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland

WCC News: Bishop emeritus Dr Jonas Jonson speaks on “Just Peace and the Vocation of the Church”

Bishop emeritus Dr Jonas Jonson, during a keynote address at the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation in Seoul, Republic of Korea, spoke on “Just Peace and the Vocation of the Church.” He began by positing that, even in apocalyptic times, believers are ceaselessly called to plant in faith what may blossom and bear fruit in an unknown future.   Bishop emeritus Dr Jonas Jonson delivering a keynote address “Just Peace and the Vocation of the Church” at the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation held in Seoul, Republic of Korea on 9-13 September 2026. Photo: NCCK 17 September 2026 “We convene amid compounding climate change and full-scale wars, fueled by militarization and the rapid proliferation of lethal autonomous weapons,” he said. “We witness rising nationalism, democratic backsliding, inter-religious tensions, and mass migration, alongside attacks on underfunded and weakened global institutions.” He spoke on how the church is called to witness to and practice a peace rooted in justice in today’s world.  “Regrettably, Christianity – like other world religions – has re-emerged as an active and potent force also serving destructive political interests,” said Jonson. “The Russian president has strategically weaponized the Russian Orthodox Church to justify his full-scale war in Ukraine.” Jonson also noted that US president Donald Trump constantly invokes rightwing Christian support. “There is a growing misuse of religious language and theological authority to sanctify armed aggression and war, to dehumanize adversaries, and to encourage religious nationalism and extremism,” said Jonson. “A significant resistance to the political misuse of faith is arising from within the churches.” He urged churches to raise their voices to protest against any appropriation and politicization of faith. “An authentic Christian message of peace, loving one's neighbor, caring for creation, and welcoming the stranger today is heard as radically subversive,” he said. “That is precisely what makes it so urgently needed in the world.” Bishop emeritus Dr Jonas Jonson delivering a keynote address “Just Peace and the Vocation of the Church” at the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation held in Seoul, Republic of Korea on 9-13 September 2026. Photo: NCCK Jonson reflected that the rules-based world order that originated after World War II is shifting toward a fragmented, multipolar system. “At present, only 26 countries out of 167 are rated as full democracies,” he said. “More than half of the world’s total population live in authoritarian dictatorships which control media and suppress political opposition.” Idealistic internationalism is overshadowed by self-absorbed nationalism, Jonson noted. “During World War I, churches learned that the world was too strong for a divided church,” he said. “Therefore, church leaders decided to do whatever possible to strengthen Christian identity, promote church unity, build alliances, and prepare for worse days to come.” At that time, there were no global ecumenical structures, and few people had any experience of international church cooperation, he added. “Now, the situation is much different,” said Jonson. “Christianity, including Roman Catholicism and many charismatic churches, is imbued with ecumenical thinking and well connected.” The enthusiasm of ecumenical pioneers has matured into bold initiatives of practical cooperation, Jonson said. “An ecumenical vision has taken root at the local level. The role of international organizations is to coordinate and communicate.” Followers of Jesus Christ should aim at nothing less than a universal ecological civilization – a world where wounds are healed, and righteousness and just peace prevail. However, experience teaches us the need for eschatological patience, Jonson noted. “The full unity of all creation will not come within history, but only as history reaches its completion in God's embrace,” he said. “The vocation of the Church of today and tomorrow is to live the faith as a leaven of hope and as a sacrament for the world. WCC general secretary opens convocation in Korea: “The Kingdom of God is peace” (WCC news release, 9 September 2026) 2026 International Peace Convocation to take place in Korea (WCC news release, 7 September 2026) 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 356 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 general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland