CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by Ed. Hobbs Gama, Malawi, January 1999
THEME = CHURCHES
As the next millennium draws ever nearer,
the World Council of Churches, (WCC)
during its December 1998 Assembly in Harare, Zimbabwe,
called for relief for the poor and a better future for all
The 8th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) took place in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital from 3-14 December 1998 with the theme: "Turn to God - Rejoice in Hope". It was also an occasion to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The Churches in Africa, made their presence felt during the course of the Assembly and at the end the 5000 delegates representing some 339 Christian churches promised to "stay together" and "seek to remain in solidarity with Africa."
The WCCs first Assembly in Africa was held in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1975. The Zimbabwe Assembly was a confirmation and recognition of Africa's place with the WCC's membership. When the WCC was launched 50 years ago, most of its members came from Europe and the United States. Today, most of the members come from the southern regions of the world and from Africa.
A particular feature of this Assembly was the use of the "Padare", a Shona word meaning a gathering place, a market place. Here, conferences and discussions on such issues as peace, reconciliation, structural adjustment programmes, violence, displaced persons, child soldiers, poverty, debt cancellation (one of the crucial issues) HIV/AIDS, the Churches in solidarity with women.
South Africa's President, Nelson Mandela, regarded as Africa's foremost statesman and peacemaker, graced the Assembly on 14 December. In his speech, Mandela called the WCC's 50 years existence as a period of struggle for peace in the world, attributing his rise and education, to what he had received from Christian missionaries. He called for a new world order to reduce the gap between the poor and the rich.
He said: "We have to eradicate poverty. We have to restructure the present institutions for life to be meaningful for all. The rights that have been declared universal should bring an end to hunger, disease and homelessness in the world," said Mandela who urged African leaders to resolve war conflicts in pursuance of human rights, (another subject that attracted a lot of debate at the Assembly).
The Assembly talked about the coming new Millennium as a time of "Jubilee". In the ancient Jewish tradition, the period of Jubilee was a period for overcoming injustices and poverty, and for restoring right relations. In the New Testament, Jesus extends the Jubilee vision by proclaiming good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight to the blind and liberation of the oppressed. Jesus taught his disciples to pray for the forgiveness of debts as we forgive our debtors. The Jubilee commandment is as relevant today as it was thousands of years ago. The Assembly said that debt bondage by the poorest countries to western governments and creditors, is todays new slavery.
The Churches present at the Assembly, and other ecumenical groups, supported the Jubilee 2000 Coalition which is campaigning for the cancellation of poor countries' unpayable debts in the light of the failure by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and their Highly Indebted Poor Countries initiative, to rid poor countries of their heavy foreign debt.
The final document of the WCC Assembly says the accelerating concentration of wealth in the hands of a few countries and the devastating decline in the living standards in the poorest countries, call for correction along the lines of the ancient time of Jubilee. The present debt crisis can no longer be tolerated. The WCC urges creditor nations to cancel debts of poor countries to enable them enter the new millennium with a fresh start.
The WCC's final statement declared: "The diverting of resources from the impoverished peoples living under the burden of heavy debt situations, to richer western creditor nations, is a violation of human rights. The impunity with which creditors are able to impose such policies is a travesty of justice. The high levels of debt and consequent economic degradation inevitably lead to social conflict, national disintegration and finally war. However, it should be noted that within individual countries, military dictatorships and corrupt regimes have caused their countries to incur the most unacceptable kind of debt."
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CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
PeaceLink 1999 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement