Porto Alegre, Brazil, 14 Feb - The first press conference of the General Assembly in Porto Alegre brought together several names from the world ecumenical scene, including Central Committee Moderator Catholicos Aram I, General Secretary Samuel Kobia and several presidents of the WCC.

In his opening words, Catholicos Aram I pointed out that the World Council of Churches is a singular entity. "WCC is not an organization, it is a Council of Churches" he said, and it is not a "council for the Churches, but a council of the Churches". The churches meet to strengthen togetherness, address common concerns and issues and increase fellowship, he continued.

Samuel Kobia, WCC General Secretary, insisted that in regard to this General Assembly, there are two things that make WCC a unique structure. "It is a platform where churches speak together addressing challenges, and it is a platform that looks into the future", he said, pointing to the current agenda and also to the increased participation of youth in the Assembly.

Bishop Adriel de Souza Maia, president of CONIC, the National Council of Churches in Brazil, stated that the General Assembly should be "a voice of unity", and when everyone speaks of globalization, the ecumenical movement should talk in a particular way also about the "globalization of life". These could but "strengthen the ecumenical movement", he said.

Agnes Abuom, WCC president from Kenya, introduced the issues of women, talking about the "perspective of women in the post-Harare times", which meant the "increase of women participation" to a current of 7% delegates and 45% participants in Porto Alegre. She also briefly summarized the issues regarding the "vision of community", "economy" and "violence" from the women perspective.

Bishop Federico Pagura, WCC president from Latin America, somehow discontinued the neutral political tone of the other speakers and talked of the WCC as an "instrument of God" that should proclaim in strong words a message against "imperialistic powers". He acknowledged that this might be acceptable to some and unacceptable to others. "Latin America is looking forward to hear words of hope from the WCC" he said.

Nerissa Celestine, 22, Grenada, female delegate in the pre-Assembly Youth Event, briefly introduced the importance of youth participation. She thanked for the policy of addressing youth issues and promoting youth participation. In this General Assembly, unlike all the previous ones, there are 15% youth participants.

Did you enjoy this article? Please bookmark it onto: