Visit of WCC Pilgrim Team

On Tuesday 24 May an international delegation of the World Council of Churches (WCC), focusing on collaboration of churches on the issue of migration and known as the Pilgrim Team, was received at the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU) during its visit to Italy.

The Pilgrim Team met with Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the PCPCU, and staff. The discussion dealt with the issues of how the diaconal work of the churches in Italy represents an essential channel in upholding the human dignity of refugees and other migrants arriving in Europe through the Mediterranean Sea, and is a tangible expression of ecumenical solidarity.

Father Andrzej Choromanski, official of the PCPCU, and Brother Guido Dotti from the monastic community of Bose, Italy, represented the Catholic Church during the visit. The Pilgrim Team comprised about 15 participants representing the WCC member churches and ecumenical partners, led by Dr Agnes Abuom, Moderator of the WCC central committee, and Torsten Moritz, General Secretary of the Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe.

The visit was a part of the WCC programme Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace initiated after the Busan Assembly in 2013, which focuses on promoting justice and peace through churches. In 2022 the regional focus is Europe and the central theme is migration with a particular focus on women and children. During the four-day visit from 21‒24 May the team visited Palermo, Lampedusa and Rome, meeting with different agencies involved in humanitarian work with migrants and participating in ecumenical worship services dedicated to prayer for migrants and refugees and those working in the field.