The WCC's 9th Assembly was held in Porto Alegre last February, the first in Latin America. How do you assess the experience and results of the Assembly in the region and globally?
The Ninth Assembly provided an exceptional opportunity for close ecumenical cooperation between the WCC member churches in Brazil and indeed in Latin America as a whole. The many people who participated in the Assembly as delegates, staff, volunteers and visitors returned to their home communities greatly inspired and with their ecumenical commitment strengthened.
I believe that it was an assembly that combined in a very significant way the sharing of ecumenical experiences (in the Mutirão and in the Ecumenical Conversations), celebration of the faith (in worship and Bible study) and the debates and decision-taking in the business sessions. It thus contributed to a new way of living ecumenically, which is so necessary at this time.As moderator of the central committee, and as a theologian and church leader, how would you define your ecumenical vision and the purpose of the ecumenical movement?
The constant motivation behind the ecumenical movement has been the desire to achieve full unity between the churches, and on that basis to become more faithful and efficient instruments of God's love in the world. In God's love, the oikoumene extends far beyond the frontiers of the churches and embraces the whole of humankind and the whole created universe.
For the churches, the ecumenical movement is based on the gift of unity that is ours in Christ by faith and baptism. As we journey on, with that as our foundation, we are already practising and experiencing unity in all sorts of ways. We worship the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit - perfect unity and communion.
I find it natural that for all of us, our faith, spirituality and action are deeply rooted in our respective churches. But I have always felt that our divisions are a flagrant denial of all that we believe, a scandal that is a result of human sin. I therefore have a dream, and I strive for our churches to be renewed in all that stands in the way of unity within the Christian family, following a common path of communion, witness and service. The ecumenical movement has a deep longing for ever greater communion and cannot rest content with a minimalist agenda.
