In an audience with Pope Francis in the Vatican, the World Council of Churches Central Committee moderator, Dr. Agnes Abuom, and WCC General Secretary, Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit, discussed how Christian unity is vital in bringing a true sense of justice to issues the world is facing today.
“We are very grateful for the very constructive and fruitful meeting with Pope Francis today,” said Tveit. “We are living in a time when the purpose and the objectives of the ecumenical movement are highly relevant.”
“Through the many dimensions of its work, the WCC contributes to the unity of the church, and the unity that the WCC is able to express, in turn, contributes to the unity of humankind.”
“There is a willingness in the WCC constituencies and beyond, in the Roman Catholic Church, to seek a united witness and a common service for those who need us to unite our agendas and resources for those who need our attention the most.” Tveit added. “We have a common view of the role of the ecumenical movement and the needs of the churches in a divided and fragile world.”
“The unity of the church and the unity of humankind are interconnected,” said Abuom, adding, “The ecumenical endeavours cannot be successful without a deep understanding of what it means to live together in the body of Christ, in the love of Christ. We are working, walking and praying together.”
“The many expressions of polarisation, greater gaps between rich and poor, extremism and violence, worries about the future of the planet Earth and withdrawal of accountability for our common home and future create a constant call upon what we stand for,” Abuom said.
Obviously, the Catholic Church and her ecumenical partners use conflicts and issues to pressure churches to unite in ecumenical unity. The meeting with Pope Francis included common prayer for unity, peace and reconciliation.
Not surprisingly, the visit to Rome by the WCC leaders was hosted by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. A special meeting took place with Cardinal Kurt Koch on the joint working group with the Catholic Church and the WCC.
The WCC delegation also met Dr. Flaminia Giovanelli, under-secretary at the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the main focus of the discussion was on climate justice and COP23 in Bonn, nuclear weapons, an upcoming consultation on migration and xenophobia in December, and peace-building initiatives.
The two WCC leaders also visited the Community of Sant’Egidio while in Rome and praised the refugee work of the community and mirrored the Catholic Church’s appeal to support refugees who have flooded Europe with an incompatible lifestyle, crime and social problems.
God confused the languages at the tower of Babel and then developed all nations of men (see Acts 17:26). This was to prevent the globalization at the time of Babel and make it difficult for future generations to accomplish a New World Order. Globalists try to merge the various nations of men, either forcefully, or by cultural assimilation in defiance of God’s plan for man. This creates conflicts which global elites, including the Vatican exploit to push for more globalism in the name of peace and safety. Urging more ecumenism in the face of current conflicts and problems is a classic example of this.
While Rome pushes incompatible cultures together, which creates conflicts, crime and other mass migration issues in Europe, she is also pressing for more ecumenical influence and collaboration to address the problems she has deliberately helped to create.
“And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand… and by peace [or in the name of peace] shall destroy many.” Daniel 8:25.