World Council of Churches
Press Update
27 May 1999

Consultation on the Churches and the Crisis in the Balkans
(Budapest, Hungary, 26-27 May 1999)

c.f. WCC press release of 21 May 1999

Over 40 church leaders and representatives from Eastern and Western Europe as well as from North America met in Budapest, Hungary, from 26 to 27 May to discuss the churches' response to the crisis in the Balkans region. Representatives of the churches in the Federal Republic Yugoslavia (Lutheran, Methodist, Reformed and Serbian Orthodox churches) participated in the meeting.

The consultation was jointly organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Conference of European Churches (CEC) in cooperation with the Lutheran World Federation
(LWF) and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC), and was hosted by the ecumenical Council of Churches in Hungary. The consultation benefitted from the presence of a
representative of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE). The international ecumenical organizations have taken several initiatives in response to the crisis, including the sending of delegations to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, to Albania and to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

The main purposes of the consultation were:

• To exchange information on the churches' actions and statements in response to the crisis in the Balkans;
• To engage in a dialogue aimed at a better understanding of the different perceptions and positions of the churches;
• To discuss the churches' role and witness in response to the crisis and in promoting peace.

The consultation shared in the widespread international concern about the escalation of the conflict and the reports of massive human rights violations in Kosovo, the devastating impact of the NATO airstrikes and the tragic effects on the civilian population, and the plight of almost a million refugees from Kosovo.

The consultion recognized the complex historical roots of the crisis, and the different perceptions of the nature of the conflict and of the immediate causes of the massive exodus of Kosovar Albanians.

In a context of renewed division and hostilities in Europe, the church representatives expressed their commitment to staying together in prayer and in solidarity. In this situation the churches should seek common Christian witness and action by affirming the following principles:

• To recognize the fundamental and urgent priority of negotiations as the only basis for a durable solution to the crisis, and to urge the parties to use all possible opportunities to end hostilities.
• To support initiatives which foster a peaceful and lasting resolution of the conflict, and which recognize the equal rights of all nationalities and ethnic groups to co-exist within the same territory.
• To promote the guaranteed right of return and security of all those displaced by the conflict.
• To recognize and promote the central role of the United Nations and the OSCE in any negotiated solution to the crisis.
• To contribute to the process of reconciliation and rehabilitation of communities.
• To support efforts to render justice to all victims of the conflict.
• To continue the response to the humanitarian needs of all those affected by the crisis, through WCC/LWF ACT-Action By Churches Together and local churches and partners.

The consultation recognized the need for further dialogue and discussion of the following issues:

• The concept of "just war" and the means of peaceful resolution of conflict.
• The competing claims of national sovereignty and of humanitarian intervention.
• The relationship between religion, identity, territory and nation.
• The role which national contexts, minority/majority status and history play in the formation of perceptions.
• The identification and nature of reliable sources of information and its accurate dissemination.

Follow-up and possible future actions:

• The consultation recognized that the crisis affects the entire region of Southeastern Europe. A lasting solution will be furthered decisively if the national, ethnic, cultural and historical features can be brought into the process of European integration. In particular, the Orthodox tradition must be acknowledged as an integral part of the European heritage.
• A special expectation for follow-up focuses on the Conference of European Churches. In particular, cooperation with the CCEE and other appropriate Roman Catholic partners can be strengthened in response to the regional challenges. The framework of cooperation with the churches and ecumenical organizations in North America should also be reinforced, drawing on the experience of the churches' human rights programme.
• The creation of new instruments for a Christian response at the Southeastern Europe level should be seriously considered in order to generate and nurture a future-oriented approach, emphasizing preventive action, education, interreligious dialogue and building on existing and new networks within civil society.

The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of 336 churches, in more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the Assembly, which meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany.

Catholics and evangelical Protestants are connecting despite doctrinal differences

(Faith Today, Toronto) -- Protestants and Catholics are working together more and more these days in Canada. Each believes it is the best expression of Christian faith, and each has often condemned the other's teachings. Now some are trying to move beyond these criticisms and to forge limited new forms of cooperation, according to a series of articles in the May/June issue of Faith Today.

Gary Walsh, president of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), visited the offices of the Catholic Bishops in Ottawa and found himself "thanking the Lord for the things we share in common." Despite doctrinal differences between the two organizations, EFC is having regular contact and working closely with Catholics on public policy issues such as abortion, family life and euthanasia, according to the lead article by Harold Jantz, a consultant and project manager of church-related projects in Winnipeg.

Sr. Donna Geernaert, who speaks for the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in Ottawa, observes that not only have Catholics and the EFC joined with one another for presentations to government, they've also coordinated their efforts so they could prepare complementary briefs.

George Vandervelde of Toronto, convener of the World Evangelical Fellowship's task force on ecumenical issues, believes that dialogue between evangelicals and Catholics is important "simply to understand one another and clarify how we are different and how we are similar." He says we shouldn't be bearing false witness against each other. "If in evangelicalism we say this or that against Roman Catholicism, we should know that we are speaking truth, and you can find that out only by speaking to one another."

Issues still remain. For example many evangelicals believe the Catholic exaltation of Mary as mediator or "Mother of God" suggests a diminution of Christ. And when it comes to salvation, many Catholics believe that there is no salvation outside their churches -- and some Protestants believe the same for themselves.

The worldwide growth of evangelicalism has fueled some of the new cooperation. Between 1970 and the mid-90's, charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity has grown in population around the world from 73 million to 480 million and at the same time Roman Catholics around the world went from under 700 million to one billion.

In Central and South America, much of the Protestant growth has come as a result of people leaving the Catholic church, which has created hostilities between Protestants and Catholics there. In one of the Faith Today articles, freelance writer Joe Couto examines how immigrant communities in Canada deal with these hard feelings inherited from their homelands. "The church has changed and we don't have that fear of Pentecostals any more," said Father Gelso Dadalt, who came to Canada from Brazil last year to serve Portuguese-speaking Catholics in Toronto. Jose Da Silva, pastor of the Portuguese-speaking congregation at Madison Baptist Church in Montreal said that he is open to working with Roman Catholics, but adding that he won't undermine his beliefs to do it.

Over the years, Catholics and evangelicals have grown in relationship. There has been much transfer of charismatic belief and experience. Because of it many Catholics in a "prayer environment" feel quite comfortable in a Pentecostal gathering, says Fr. Damien MacPherson, spokesperson for interreligious affairs for the Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto. What was "unthinkable" three decades ago, is now valued and seen as a "gift of the Spirit."

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Faith Today, is a national bi-monthly magazine that informs Canadian evangelicals on thoughts, trends, issues and events. It has been published since 1983 by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, an association of 31 church denominations and more than 100 Christian academic, evangelistic, political and social development organizations. An estimated 2.5 million Canadians are evangelical. (Visit the EFC's website at www.evangelicalfellowship.ca.)