World

During the Day of the Dead celebrations that take place in late October and early November in Mexico, the living remember and honor their dearly departed, but with celebration — not sorrow. Marigolds decorate the streets as music blares from speakers. It is believed that during the Day of the Dead — or Dia de Muertos — they are able to commune with their deceased loved ones.

The acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches met this week with Patriarch Kirill, the Russian Orthodox Church head who has drawn global criticism for lending spiritual support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The meeting followed months of controversy surrounding the Russian Orthodox Church’s membership in the WCC.

Pope Francis on Sunday denounced Europe’s indifference toward migrants risking their lives to cross the Mediterranean Sea as he elevated to sainthood an Italian bishop and Italian-born missionary whose work and life paths illustrated the difficulties faced by 19th Century Italian emigrants.

A Baptist pastor and his wife remain missing after being kidnapped Sept. 21 from their church in Russian-occupied Mariupol, Forum 18 news service reported Oct. 6. 

Reporting from a meeting of the Middle East and North Africa Evangelical National Councils, Daoud Kuttab notes that pressure from Arab governments and other Christian groups has only contributed to evangelicals’ cooperation in the region.

Rev. Dr. Lee B. Spitzer offers his thoughts on how American followers of Jesus should come to grips with the reality and implications of our country’s historical record of racist actions and structures. He determines that although offering reparations is certainly a societal collective responsibility that must be addressed, we should also embrace the more personal spiritual discipline of reparations.

Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, has co-opted the vision of the sacrifice of Jesus to bless a false rite of military sacrifice. In this bloody vision of Christian Nationalism, we find many warnings. So, in this issue of A Public Witness, we look at religious support and criticism of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And we hold up a candle to expose sacrilegious efforts to conflate church and state.

Brian Kaylor reports from the 2022 general council of the European Baptist Federation in Riga, Latvia. A focus of the gathering is the war on Ukraine and how to support believers in the nation and refugees fleeing to other countries.

With the pope surrounded by empty seats in Kazakhstan, critics questioned the efficacy of his diplomacy of encounter and his strategy of silence when it comes to outright condemning human rights violations in China, Russia and Nicaragua. But Vatican diplomacy insiders urge patience, arguing that even as the pope remains silent, the institution’s diplomatic corps is hard at work behind the scenes, advancing the cause for dialogue.

After a sometimes tense week that included passionate exchanges, the 11th assembly of the World Council of Churches approved a statement regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that denounces the war but does not single out the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, who has been widely criticized for outlining what is seen as the spiritual foundation for the invasion.