Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC
Following is the response of World
Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan
Sauca to an open letter to the global ecumenical community on the
Wuppertal Declaration, a conference message released in June 2019, when
representatives from numerous countries and different denominational and
faith traditions gathered in Wuppertal, Germany, to discuss the
profound global ecological crisis.
What was the general reaction when the WCC, along with many others in the ecumenical movement, received this letter?
Rev. Dr Sauca: The WCC is a fellowship
of churches and we welcome all forms of dialogue. The WCC considers the
Wuppertal Declaration as an important conference message. It is the
outcome of an initiative led by a WCC member church and ecumenical
partner in Germany on June 2019, with broad representation following an
international ecumenical conference focusing on issues of eco-theology,
ethics of sustainability and eco-friendly churches. The WCC was one of
the co-organisers of the meeting and was represented in the
gathering. Even if the Declaration does explicitly link
the climate crisis to human greed, expressing more clearly the key role
of the broken world economic order in producing and aggravating the
ecological crisis, it remains a powerful voice for global action with
specific suggestions that can be followed up and deepened.
As the main expression of the global ecumenical
movement, the WCC operates in a wide range of contexts marked by
diversity of identities, priorities and points of view. What holds the
WCC together institutionally, also in terms of what the fellowship
declares publicly, is the common voice that grows from our governing
bodies, which, in many ways represents and streamlines that diversity
and constantly seeks to reach consensus in a constructive and prophetic
way. In this sense, it is important to highlight that the WCC Central
Committee, Executive Committee and the general secretariat have been
constantly affirming that economic and ecologic justice can never be
separated.
How did you react to the criticism of the Wuppertal Call in the letter?
Rev. Dr Sauca: The open letter is not a
criticism of WCC, but a critical look at the Wuppertal
Declaration. It is a constructive criticism of
the Wuppertal Declaration and will hopefully lead to deeper discussions
and analyses. We always welcome dialogue and deeper reflection.
How will the WCC respond to the open letter?
Rev. Dr Sauca: Since the letter was not
directed in particular to the WCC, we do not see the need to respond
with another letter. We see our role in convening and bringing
people with different opinions and perspectives around the table, to
dialogue. As one of the co-organisers of the Wuppertal conference,
we would like to reiterate the aforementioned affirmations and sharing
key WCC statements that challenge the false dichotomy between economy
and ecology and hold together justice and sustainability (as one cannot
be achieved without the other). Both the Wuppertal Declaration and
the open letter are very relevant and valuable inputs to the ecumenical
movement to ensure that ecological justice will be addressed in a
holistic manner, in the context of economic justice. We see that one of
the roles of the WCC in this scenario is to work as the convener of such
dialogue. It is only by working together that we can jointly ensure
that the ecumenical movement will get the benefit of united and holistic
responses to the existential challenges that humanity and creation face
today. As the WCC fellowship is preparing for the 11th WCC Assembly
to be held in Karlsruhe in September 2021, we look forward to having
these issues discussed and further analyzed in ecumenical conversations
at the assembly.
Open letter to the global ecumenical community on the “Wuppertal Declaration“