WCC NEWS: WCC acting general secretary at Global Tolerance Alliance Summit: “Building bridges of justice, reconciliation, and peace is a call for all”

World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca shared a message during a Global Tolerance Alliance Summit and Round Table held in Abu Dhabi on 16-17 November. Photo: Paul Jeffrey/ Life on Earth Pictures 16 November 2022 Sauca met with other leaders from around the world who serve in various spheres of influence including governments, faith entities, and non-governmental organizations. Participants endeavored to create an “actionable platform” for compassionate change on our shared planet. Sauca reflected on “Compassion beyond boundaries—and the bridges that get us there.” He spoke of how building bridges of justice, reconciliation, and peace is a call for all people of faith.  He shared details of visiting churches and people in Lebanon and Syria. “We went by car from Lebanon to Damascus and, from there, on to Aleppo,” he said. “We saw the pain and suffering of the people, the former towns and villages that are deserted and entirely destroyed.” Yet, in the ruins that are left, here and there, Sauca also saw children in kindergarten or classrooms, modest hospitals, and places that care for older people. “We were moved to see how the churches are managing and taking care of such projects and that the people who are benefiting from these projects are not only Christians, but all also Muslim and all those in need,” he said. “The situation of the people, however, is unbearable.” When he returned to Geneva, Sauca signed a letter addressed to President Biden asking that the sanctions be lifted. “And we are still waiting with hope to get a response,” he said. “We have seen such sanctions in other nations as well, inflicting suffering among the people, and we did our best to address those with compassion as well.” Sauca said he is aware that some of these kinds of initiatives or actions may seem, for some people, unpopular or unfashionable. “Yet, I personally think that in all situations we cannot keep silent from witnessing to the values of our faith which represent in fact the core of our identity,” he said. “It is our moral duty to see in the face of every human being God’s image and to address any suffering from the perspective of God’s compassionate love for all who suffer and are in need, not only for some selected ones.” Read the message here WCC's Ecumenical Institute Bossey: a privileged space for interreligious dialogue 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