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The Acting General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, Rev. Prof. Ioan Sauca, received the Bridge Builder Award during a ceremony in Oslo on Monday, Nov. 22, 2021.
The award was presented by the Jury of the 14th August Committee Norway together with The Oslo Center.
“Brobyggerprisen” – Bridge Builder Award – is awarded by the 14th of August Committee Norway to persons and institutions who have contributed to building bridges across individuals, nations and societies, both in Norway and internationally.
The same award was given to Michael Melchior, Chief Rabbi of Norway and leader of the Initiative for Religious Peace in Israel, and to Muslim leader Muhammad Bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa.
As World Council of Churches (WCC) acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca accepted a Bridge Builder Award, he shared the WCC’s approach to interreligious peacemaking.
“In our globalized situation, our work in interreligious dialogue, cooperation and peacemaking holds the prospect of a genuine fraternity among religious communities to address conflicts but also to prevent them, to make and keep peace but also to root it in the hearts of people.”
“Nonetheless, the challenges posed by interreligious encounter also push us to address many tough questions. We cannot pretend that the path of interreligious dialogue, cooperation and peacemaking is an easy one. But this is where God calls us to go, trusting in God’s accompaniment of us, and in God’s good purposes for the whole of creation.”
“May our interreligious bridge building unite us in work for peace, engender reconciliation among divided communities, and bring us ever closer to the divine love that creates and sustains all life, calling us to participate in the work of mending this beautiful but broken world,” Fr Ioan Sauca concluded.
