wfn.org | WCC UPDATE: Overcoming violence in Asia

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World Council of Churches - Update
Contact: + 41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
For immediate release - 05/04/2005

ASIAN CHURCHES TO DEEPEN THEIR COMMITMENT TO OVERCOMING VIOLENCE IN 2005

Asia has the potential to become economically prosperous in the near
future, but it is also likely to see increasing disparities of health and
wealth. These injustices are themselves a form of violence that may in
turn lead to yet more expressions of violence in the region. This
potential scenario makes the focus on the Asian region in 2005 by the
Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV) all the more relevant.

This assessment was voiced by Rev. Rothangliani R. Chhangte from the
American Baptist Churches in the USA during the formal launch of the DOV
Asia focus at the 12th general assembly of the Christian Conference of
Asia (CCA) on Saturday 2 April in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

A member of the DOV committee in the USA, Chhangte was speaking as a
"living letter" from the region on which DOV focused during 2004. In that
capacity, she brought the solidarity and a message from US churches to the
churches in Asia: "The peace we seek is life in Christ, a dynamic life of
well-being, reconciliation and healing even in the face of harsh and
difficult circumstances."

The DOV focus on Asia will be a window through which "the eyes of the
world will see how overcoming violence is being done by the churches in
Asia," World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel
Kobia told the gathering of representatives of over one hundred Asian
churches. "Building communities of peace for all" has been chosen as the
theme for the annual focus.

DOV coordinator Rev. Hansulrich Gerber emphasized that the DOV calls
churches "to repent for their complicity in violence, and to engage in
theological reflection and joint action to overcome the spirit, logic and
practice of violence."

"Countless numbers of people are injured by violence, and the cost is
nearly impossible to assess," Gerber says, adding that according to World
Health Organization figures, an estimated 1.6 million people lost their
lives to violence in 2000. About half were suicides, one third were
homicides (interpersonal violence), and one fifth were casualities of
armed conflict.

The CCA 12th general assembly lasts until Wednesday, 6 April.

Christian Conference of Asia website:
http://www.cca.org.hk/12ga/index.htm

Decade to Overcome Violence website:
http://www.overcomingviolence.org

Further information on the WCC general secretary's visit to Asia and the
Decade to Overcome Violence is available on our website at:

Cf. WCC press update pu-05-10 of 1 April 2005
Cf. WCC press update pu-05-09 of 30 March 2005
Cf. WCC feature feat-05-09 of 30 March 2005
Cf. WCC press release pr-05-08 of 23 March 2005

This material may be reprinted freely.

Additional information: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363
media@wcc-coe.org

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The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 347, in
more than 120 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 Samuel Kobia from the Methodist church in Kenya.