Caritas Internationalis says its ability to support vulnerable people in conflict zones has been severely restricted by the actions of governments over the last 18 months.

Anglican Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu has called on leaders of the G20 nations gathering in London for their conference next week to increase their commitment to conflict prevention.

A pastoral delegation sent by the World Council of Churches to Georgia and Russia in the wake of the bitter conflict there has not been able to get safe passage to visit South Ossetia from the Georgian side of the ceasefire line.

A conference in Bern this month will discuss the often thorny concept of the "Promised Land" and related theological issues with a view to helping more churches become advocates for a just peace in the Middle East.

Christian and Muslim groups are urging a peaceful resolution following attacks allegedly by groups linked to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Mindanao in the Philippines, and retaliation by government troops.

Patriarch Ilia of Georgia and Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Aleksei II are doing all they can to ensure that the conflict between their nations does not become "a people's war, a holy war", echoing earlier nationalistic fervour.

The concrete wall behind the altar of the Christian Church of Central Sulawesi in Palu, Indonesia, is testimony to the depth of conflict there writes Maurice Malanes. But now peace is being given a chance.

Forty pastors from five different tribes and denominations met for a peace-building seminar at the Eastleigh Fellowship Centre, located in a semi-slum area of Nairobi, recently. The centre facilitates church and community programmes.

As US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice travels to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders in the wake of the chaos occasioned by Israel's intervention in Gaza, senior US church figures have written calling for urgent action.