Proposed Declaration for the second version of the
Ecumenical Declaration on Just Peace

ECUMENICAL NETWORK IN GERMANY (ÖNiD)

2009 OCTOBER 24

The Ecumenical Decade to Overcome Violence is to be concluded in 2011 by an International Ecumenical Peace Convocation and an Ecumenical Declaration on Just Peace. The World Council of Churches (WCC) sent an Initial Statement to member churches by way of preparation. They were requested to make suggestions for a second version of the statement. The EKD had already made its contribution to DOV in the 2007 memorandum “Live from Just Peace – Care for Just Peace”, later supplemented by comments on the Initial Statement. The present proposal by ÖNiD expresses the views of the ecumenical grassroots in Germany. We have not proposed amendments to the Initial Statement but are presenting one of our own, for the following reason.

The Initial Statement is a relatively abstract study of the topic of just peace. Current, real-life problems only appear as examples in lists. There is an urgent need of analysis of the direct structural and cultural phenomena of violence and the way they interact. Such analysis is totally lacking, which seems to us inappropriate in view of the dramatic crisis of civilization, especially in its economic, political and ecological dimensions. The biblical considerations also make little use the contextual method needed to understand the texts more precisely and thus be able to relate them to our own context. Moreover, there are no clear proposals for action for the churches.

This is why we offer to the WCC this proposal for the second version of the Declaration on Just Peace. In the second part of this document we give the reason for our proposal in the time-honoured steps “see, judge, act”.

Germete, 24.10.2009
Annual meeting of ÖNiD
(Ecumenical Network in Germany)

The full text of the proposed declaration may be downloaded here:

www.oenid.net/IOeFK/Engl_FinalProposalDeclarationOnJustPeace.pdf