Pope Francis has called on the Syrian rebels who toppled President Bashar al-Assad's regime to stabilzse the country, and govern to promote national unity, as the World Council of Churches appealed for external actors to refrain from intervening by armed force in the country.
During a World Council of Churches prayer on Dec. 2, those gathered commemorated World AIDS Day, which was observed the day before, as many churches worldwide have long supported carriers of HIV and AIDS who were once heavily stigmatized.
French President Emmanuel Macron has toured Paris's Notre-Dame cathedral live on TV, giving the public a first look inside the building since much of it was destroyed or damaged in a huge fire in 2019.
The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem have this year supported the commemoration of the religious observances of Advent and Christmas in the midst of the continuing regional war after they were suspended a year ago.
Jailed pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai has dismissed as "impossible" the idea that the Chinese government could be overthrown during testimony in his Hong Kong national security trial on Nov. 28, as foreign governments continue to call for his immediate release.
The World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, and the ACT Alliance, have issued a joint 'Call to Action for Biodiversity and Climate Justice at COP16' in Cali, Colombia.
Geneva professor Achim Wennmann says it is essential for churches and networks of churches striving for peace to be as close as possible to individuals on the ground and listen intently to what makes for conflict dynamics, talking to friends and foes in the process.
Around 3,000 Christians from various denominations have demonstrated near the Indian parliament in New Delhi, expressing concern against intensifying incidents of persecution across the mainly Hindu country.
The ecumenicals and the Pentecostals, representing two significant strands of Christianity, have not joined forces in a new move toward greater Christian unity in one group, but they are talking to each other.
