Visit of WCC Karlsruhe Assembly Local Office to the PCPCU

On Friday 11 March, six members of the Karlsruhe Assembly Local Office (KALO) visiting Rome were received in the office of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. KALO is the WCC office located in the city of Karlsruhe responsible for the practical and logistic aspects of the future Assembly as well as for the relations with local and national public authorities. The delegation was received by Father Andrzej Choromanski, official for the multilateral relations, who introduced the participants to the history, structure and current activities of the PCPCU, underlining the longstanding and developing relationship between the WCC and the Catholic Church dating back to Vatican II. Dr Marc Witzenbacher from the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) and head of KALO, presented the current activities of the office underlining the challenges due to the still uncertain COVID-19 situation. Mr Tobias Tiltscher, from the Catholic Deanery of Karlsruhe, addressed the issue of participation of the Catholics in liturgical celebrations and other church events prepared by the Catholic parishes of the city. 

On the invitation of the WCC general secretary, the Catholic Church, through the PCPCU, has sent an official delegation to the Assemblies since New Delhi 1961. A twenty-person delegation to Karlsruhe, including representatives of various regions of the world, ordained ministers and lay persons, theologians and ecumenical practitioners will be led by Cardinal Kurt Koch, PCPCU President. Delayed by one year due to the pandemic, the Assembly will take place from 31 August to 8 September 2022 on the theme “Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity.” In organizing the next Assembly, KALO works together with the WCC Assembly Planning Committee, whose last meeting from 19-22 October 2021 was also attended by Father Choromanski.