Samuel Kobia resigns from his post as the secretary general of the World Council of the Churches, the ecumenical body based in Geneva, which brings together 347 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican churches. From the floor, Kobia informed the Central Committee of the Wcc (which is ending its meeting today) that "for personal reasons" he cannot accept the second term of his appointment. Therefore, the Central Committee at his September meeting will appoint a new secretary general for the Wcc. Different assumptions have been made about Samuel Kobia’s decision, including some controversy from the German Protestants about his work. "First and foremost, we have to make it clear the spokesperson of the Wcc, Juan Michel, is keen on explaining from Geneva that Samuel Kobia completed his first term and simply refused to accept the second one. Therefore, this is not a resignation, but the end of his term. Then, as he spoke to the Central Committee, he explained that he took this decision for personal reasons, and the Committee, after a long discussion, accepted his decision based on such personal reasons. This means that neither Kobia nor the Central Committee want to comment or speculate on any other reason that may have been alleged about his decision". (continued)
