Churches and Ecumenical partners have been called to work together to preserve and protect water resources against over-consumption and pollution, at the 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC), currently meeting in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
The WCC body approved a statement this week that described water as “an integral part of the right to life”.
The statement, made on “Water for Life”, addressed the demands made by the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople and New Rome, saying that water should never be treated as private property, and that “indifference towards the vitality of water constitutes both a blasphemy to God the Creator and a crime against humanity.”
The 9th Assembly said, “Access to freshwater supplies is becoming an urgent matter across the planet. The survival of 1.2 billion people is currently in jeopardy due to lack of adequate water and sanitation.”
It continued, “Agreements concerning international watercourses and river basins need to be more concrete, setting out measures to enforce treaties made and incorporating detailed conflict resolution mechanisms in case disputes erupt.”
This week has also seen discussion taking place on other public issues such as vulnerable populations, terrorism and human rights, and reform of the United Nations.
The World Council of Churches Assembly only gathers approximately once every seven years, and unites to represent the world’s largest grouping of Christian churches.
Delegates have gathered from more than 120 countries across the globe, and is representing a combined total of about 500 million people.
The WCC have testified that the Assembly will go towards supporting the motion that “A world without poverty is not only possible, but is in keeping with the grace of God for the world.”
Rev Samuel Kobia, the General Secretary of the WCC said that the 21st Century has been marked by destructive power and has disgraced human dignity, reports Ecumenical News International.
The WCC has testified the hope that the Assembly will “mark the beginning of a new phase in the search for Christian unity.”
Daniel Blake
Christian Today Correspondent