Churches and Religious Organisations

Abstract

It is often said that the Christian churches have been in the human rights business longer than any other institution. They occupy a unique position in being able to protect and defend the inviolability of the individual person, which is at the very core of their mission in the world Since the war, however, two new elements in particular have brough about profound changes in church attitudes. The present in areas of acute civil conflict of missionaries, church-workers, and in some instances the church hierarchy has led to a closer identification of the church with the defence of individuals and communities deprived of social justice or political freedom. The ecumenical movement has, through contact, example and exchange of ideas, helped consolidate the resulting re-definition by the churches of their pastoral responsibilities, both centrally and more important, amongst local church bodies.