wfn.org | WCC Central Committee, Moderator, p.2

[smm@wcc-coe.org]

On the much-contested issue of self-determination, Aram said the
churches, with their history of attention to human rights issues,
"can and should play a significant role, through education,
public advocacy, empowering the marginalized and by promoting
public awareness of the crucial importance of human rights and
self-determination."

According to the Moderator, neither compromise and negotiation
nor oppression provides the solution for ethnic conflicts.
Experiences in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda have shown that
the United Nations has "neither the proper mechanisms nor the
efficiency to resolve ethnic conflicts". What is needed, he said,
is "the creation of a new international legal order, one which
would protect the integrity, security and rights of peoples".

Against this background, he suggested that "the WCC, as a
multi-ethnic and multi-confessional body..., is the right place
to deal seriously with the question of ethnicity in an atmosphere
of mutual challenge, constructive criticism and accountability.
We have learned to understand racism and its negative
repercussions on our Christian faith and convictions, and we have
combated it consciously and boldly. In the same way, let us
attempt to understand ethnicity and its challenges to our
Christian faith and mission and search together for the most
appropriate and efficient way of responding to it." In doing so,
he said, the churches' specific role is not "problem-solving" but
"conflict prevention" ? "a process intended to re-affirm our
longstanding commitment to a just society, participatory
democracy, a community of diversities and ethically sustainable
humanity".

Aram described the task of promoting the rights of the
marginalized and working for "peoples' interests" over against
"national" or "strategic" interests as "a sacred ecumenical
legacy" and "a major missionary strategy". In facing this task,
he said, the WCC should "go beyond the confines of ecclesiastical
ecumenism by establishing close cooperation with other partners
of civil society, working together for the prevention of ethnic
conflicts". At the same time, it should continue, "with new
vigour, ecumenical diplomacy, public speaking and advocacy".

The Moderator urged in conclusion that "the process of Justice,
Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) should remain at the heart
of the ecumenical vision for the next millennium... So far we
have not been able to involve our churches in a profound way in
this challenging process. Therefore, JPIC must go on with renewed
dynamism and vision within the programmatic framework of the
Council and in the life of the churches." Citing the WCC's 1990
JPIC world convocation in Seoul, he urged: "Let us become ?a
community of hope and sharing' through ?repentance, conversion
and discipleship'... Let us affirm that as churches ?we will
resist all structures and systems that violate human rights and
deny the opportunity for the realization of the full potential of
individuals and peoples.' We have to be aware of the limitations
and risks of such a prophetic ministry and ecumenical pilgrimage
in the complexities of the world of today. But we must respond to
our common calling responsibly, humbly and boldly."

                                                                      

The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now
330, in more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually
all Christian traditions.  The Roman Catholic Church is not a
member church but works cooperatively with the WCC.  The highest
governing body is the Assembly, which meets approximately every
seven years.  The WCC was formally inaugurated in 1948 in
Amsterdam, Netherlands.  Its staff is headed by general secretary
Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany.

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