Source: Church Times
On February 17, 2006 the Church Times reported, "The ninth assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) opened in the Pontifical Catholic University in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on Tuesday. It was the first time the ten-day Assembly had been held in Latin America, its Moderator, Catholicos Aram I, said when he opened the gathering on Tuesday... The Archbishop of Canterbury was due to give a keynote address at the Assembly today on Christian identity and religious pluralism. The Pope sent his greetings via Cardinal Walter Kasper, saying it was 'an exceptional event for the entire ecumenical movement'. He welcomed the special commission on Orthodox participation. The Cardinal assured hearers that although the Roman Catholic Church was not a WCC member, 'ecumenical involvement is an irreversible commitment.'"