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Pope Benedict XVI saluted the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation on Sunday, praying that “every act of violence is eliminated.”

“As faithful disciples of the Lord of peace, we must constantly pursue and persistently proclaim alternative ways that reject violence and war. Human conflict may well be inevitable in our world; but war and violence are not.”

More than midway through the IEPC in Kingston, Jamaica, WCC general secretary Tveit said he believes the convocation's outcomes will both tangible and significant.

Fourteen-year old Gudiya Putul is not in Kingston, Jamaica attending the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation, but her name and history were brought to the attention of some participants Saturday during a workshop on economic injustice and human trafficking.

Realizing a peaceful reunification of Korea would not only be a gift for the Korean people but also for the people of Asia and the world as a whole. For the church, both in and outside Korea, realizing a unified Korea will also mean the church being unified in their efforts.

In war-torn or violent communities – and perhaps in so-called peaceful ones – reaching a state of just peace takes strength and courage.

When Archbishop Valentine Mokiwa visited a gold mining operation in Tanzania, he came across something he never expected to see: a world-class runway and sprawling houses with private swimming pools.

Exploring how churches can positively respond to the challenge of climate change and environmental destruction was the aim of one of the workshops of the IEPC.

Tuvalu, a Polynesian island nation in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Australia, is home to more than 11,000 people, whose very existence, which at one time was tied to the ocean and its bounty, is now threatened by rising ocean water levels.

Sofía Chipana Quispe is part of the first generation of her family born in the city. Her parents migrated to La Paz, Bolivia, from the Andean mountain rural areas before she was born in 1952.