(Vatican Radio) The World Council of Churches 10th Assembly
opened in the South Korean city of Busan on Wednesday, with delegates from 345 Christian
communities gathering to focus on the theme ‘God of life: lead us to justice and peace.”
Philippa Hitchen is also there, following the work of the large Catholic delegation,
led by Cardinal Kurt Koch and Bishop Brian Farrell of the Pontifical council for promoting
Christian unity. As she found out on the first morning, it’s not just about debating
and approving a series of documents, but also about the more spiritual experience
of sharing in worship together… I’ve been to many ecumenical prayer services
before, but nothing quite like the worship I experienced before the official opening
of this WCC Assembly. Simple in structure and setting, the liturgy took place inside
a huge hall with thousands of people praying and singing together, accompanied by
traditional Korean instruments and a large choir in colourful national costumes. After
the opening psalm and procession, speakers from the different continents spoke movingly
of the “cries and hopes” of people in their different parts of the world: from exploitation
of resources in Africa, persecution of minorities in Asia, corruption in the Caribbean,
continuing racism and inequality in Europe, abuse of indigenous peoples in Latin America,
injustice and impunity in the Middle East, greed and violence in North America and
the destruction of the environment across the fragile Pacific region. During the
homily, the head of the Armenian Church, Patriarch Karekin II talked of the Christian
values that we must foster to combat the evils of our world, including the divisions
of the Korean peninsula or the violence raging across Syria and the wider Middle East.
Certainly the plight of people in North Korea remains in the forefront of this
Assembly, as delegates now get down to the real business of deciding what direction
the WCC should take over the next seven years. Amidst serious economic challenges
and a religious landscape that is shifting rapidly from the north to south and west
to east, how do Christian leaders continue to provide a prophetic witness of justice,
peace and reconciliation between divided peoples and nations? Even harder still, how
do we make progress towards healing our Christian divisions, at a time when our own
churches often seem more at loggerheads than ever before? Small groups of protesters
outside the conference centre are a constant reminder that not everyone supports the
work of the WCC. Perhaps that’s why the words and music moved me so much this
morning. In a message sent to the Assembly, Pope Francis prays that the meeting will
help participants find “a new impulse of vitality and vision” among all those committed
to what he calls ‘the sacred cause of Christian unity.” How I wish he’d been here
in person to hear 4.000 voices raised in unison to affirm their common faith in Christ
and a renewed commitment to exactly that task.