The World Council of Churches' General Secretary has sent out a message honouring the victims of the 9/11 attacks in the USA and their massive military aftermath.
The Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit's message also explicitly promotes a culture of peace rather than war in response to global threat and tension.
It remembers the thousands of people killed in the coordinated assault on 11 September 2001 in the United States of America, and its terrible consequences in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"On behalf of the council, I assure all those who have been affected by violence and inhumanity – in the United States and throughout the world – of continuing prayer and solidarity on the part of the fellowship of churches we constitute," says Dr Tveit, stressing that "[t]errorism in all its forms – whether committed by individuals, groups or states – is to be condemned."
In his message, the world churches' leader reaffirms the commitment of major Christian communities to dialogue among people of different faiths and beliefs, and to promoting the alternative to war of "just peace", which is also a key topic for the upcoming WCC 10th Assembly in 2013.
* Full text of the statement: http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/general-secretary/statem...
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A prayer of the people – 11 September 2011