wfn.org | ALC Bulletin #6 9 March 2003

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN COMMUNICATION AGENCY
P.O. Box 14-225
Lima 14 Perz

ALC NEWS SERVICE - ALC Bulletin #6  9 March 2003
Email: director@alcnoticias.net
	   director@alcnoticias.org

CONTENT

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Episcopal Church convenes plan to promote the defense 
of values
CHILE: Catholic Bishops call on the government to vote for peace in Lenten 
Message
ARGENTINA:  International Women's Day is not romantic but a day of action 
said Pastor
PERU: Sociologist analyses ambiguity of reconstructionism
PERU: Intense debate about the State's relationship with Churches

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Episcopal Church convenes plan to promote the defense of values

SANTO DOMINGO, March 6, 2003 (ALC). The Dominican Episcopal Church invited
the Government, businessmen and other members of society to draft a National
Plan to Defend Family Values, to confront violence, crime, corruption and
other problems that rack the Dominican Republic.

A breakdown in family values has lead to an increase in violence. In 2002
more than 120 women died as a result of this type of violence. So far this
year more than two women have been murdered a week. The Episcopal Church
also expressed concern about an increase in children abuse, where children
are frequently the victims of a family member and an increase in kidnapping.

We must join efforts to re-establish human, social, cultural, moral and
family values, accompanied by a search for God, said a Pastoral Letter from
the Anglican community in this Caribbean nation.

  It also called on people to abandon the "gods" created by a thirst for
power, by deeply rooted corruption and a lack of respect for the
Constitution.

  In a Pastoral Letter to mark the beginning of Lent, Julio Cesar Holguin K,
bishop of the Dominican Episcopal Church said that Dominican Society is
embroiled in a spiral of violence that touches the intimate fiber of one of
its fundamental values: the family.

We are faced with a situation where values are becoming inverted and the
very foundation of society begins to crumble when the harmony and emotional
and spiritual balance of the family begin to disappear, he affirmed.

Anguish is affecting all Dominican people, above all the poorest, due to a
proliferation domestic violence, unacceptable decisions in scandalous cases
of administrative corruption, irrational increases in the price of basic
necessities and because crime is becoming more rampant.

Moreover, said the letter, those who perpetrate this violence continue to
enjoy impunity.

We exhort authorities to seriously seek a solution that will get to the root
of the problem, the Pastoral letter said.

The Episcopal Church recognized the efforts of the Government and
businessmen to put a break on the constant devaluation of the local
currency. However, it warns that the poor are losing hope and the middle
class is vanishing in the face of the ongoing economic injustice that
affects the family budget.

  This situation, they affirm, requires valiant measures that do not
necessarily offer immediate solutions but demand a sacrifice from all
people, in particular the wealthier classes.

We call for a national development plan that is not marked by "commissions"
or influence trafficking, that will reduce current expenditures, that will
sacrifice a partisan political quota that surrounds the national treasury
and includes an austerity law as a symbol of reconciliation and Lenten
penitence.
----------
CHILE
Catholic Bishops call on the government to vote for peace in Lenten Message

SANTIAGO, March 5, 2003 (ALC). The Chilean Bishops Conference called on the
government to act responsibly in the UN Security Council in the Iraq case in
a Lenten Message. Chile is a non-permanent member of this organization.

"The threat of a war with immensely serious consequences that darkens the
horizon of humanity, marks our Lenten experience this year," said the
Bishops.

"Iraq must destroy all weapons of mass destruction. The UN Security Council
will now deliberate about the resolutions to be taken. The United States and
its allies must respect them. The people of the earth only wish for peace,"
said the Bishops.

Chile has an enormous responsibility as it has voice and vote in the
Security Council. Our government is dialoguing with all political force in
the country and will carefully examine their proposals as it wishes to open
a path to peace and vote with sovereignty,"  it said.

According to the message, "The Church believes firmly in the dignity of the
individual created in the image and likeness of God. For this it rejects any
attempt on human life, even more if they are innocent victims and it expects
that, in conflict situations, humans reach solutions according to their
dignity."

It recalls that Pope John Paul II has called on governments to use all means
possible to avoid an armed conflict and that the Vatican stated that such a
war cannot be a unilateral decision.

Only the UN Security Council has the power to opt for an armed attack in
legitimate defense. To the contrary, it would be a crime against peace, said
the Bishops.

The Bishops' Conference invites people to pray and fast for peace as "God
can move the hearts of the heads of nations and their social leaders and
illuminate their thoughts" so that they offer favorable circumstances so
that they opt for peace.

"We invite all Christians and men and women who believe in God to join us in
this prayer for peace," said the Chilean Catholic Bishops.

The 2003 Lenten message is signed by the Permanent Committee of the Chilean
Bishops' Conference, presided by the Cardinal Archbishop of Santiago,
Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa, vice president Javier Prado Aranguiz,
bishop of Rancagua, and by Manuel Donoso Donoso, archbishop of La Serena. It
is also signed by Alejandro Goic Karmelic, bishop of Osorno, and Manuel
Camilo Vial Risopatrsn, bishop of  Temuco and secretary general.

------------------
ARGENTINA
  International Women's Day is not romantic but a day of action said Pastor
VanOsdol

BUENOS AIRES, March 4, 2003 (ALC).  International Women4s Day, celebrated
March 8, should not be a day for romantic expressions but solidarity with
women's struggle for dignity and liberation, said Judith VanOsdol, secretary
of the Women and Gender Pastoral of the Latin American Council of Churches
(CLAI).

On this International Day, let us commit ourselves to seeking change, to
praying for peace, to overcoming violence and to participating in a global
day to defend each person created in the image and likeness of God, said
Pastor VanOsdol.

  This year, International Women's Day offers a plethora of options to
recognize and stand in solidarity with the issue of women's rights and
dignity.

On the one hand, she said, there is the IV International Hunger Strike:
"Women Say No War.  Invest in care, not in killing!" Within the historic
line of women mobilizing against war there are several other declarations
and mobilizations against the war in Iraq, she said.

Moreover, the Decade to Overcome Violence is underway, an issue that
continues to be a priority for the Women's Pastoral. We are also involved in
some continental processes, such as the "Pastors and Theologians Network"
and the "SISTERS Network", to overcome discrimination, sexism and racism,
evils that are on the rise in many parts of the planet.

Finally, she noted that this year International Women's Day falls one day
after World Prayer Day, a tradition historically lead and promoted by women
from the Churches. This initiative comes from the 19th Century and is
celebrated in more than 170 countries. Now, more than ever, we must be a
people who pray for peace.

VanOsdol admitted that many women are fascinated by flowers, music, poetry
and other romantic expressions. However, March 8 is not a day to romanticize
women or to give her flowers unless this is understood as a solidarity act.

International Women's Day is not a day to proclaim the beauty of the
feminist form, it is not an excuse to flirt or to place women on a pedestal
and to affirm how noble, sacrificial, all suffering, etc. etc.

Perhaps this last element is the most tempting and appeals to our sense of
victimization but the above mentioned examples increase the tendency to
dehumanize women, when the aim of the day is to stand in solidarity with
women in their life and work in society and commit ourselves to the search
for their liberation and dignity.

The struggle to vindicate women's rights has been underway for more than two
centuries and continues to be a need in the new millennium. We are not
looking for people to blame but for paths to change. At the same time we
need more people, men and women of good will, who are committed to this
struggle, she affirmed.

Within many Evangelical Churches there are bodies that recognize the need
for a voice that defends and seeks justice related to gender. The Word of
God, from the first chapter of Genesis, proclaims that men and women are
both created in the image and likeness of God. We also read that  God gives
"dominion" - care and stewardship - to both sexes equally, said the pastor.

Finally, it recalls that March 9 is a date to recall historic dates
regarding struggles, protests and the death of women in the struggle for
their rights. These include women's participation during the French
Revolution in 1789, who demanded "liberty, equality and fraternity." Another
example is the struggle of US women workers in the textile industry because
of their terrible working conditions in 1857, repressed by police resulting
in many deaths.

Moreover, it recalled the first International Workers Association Congress
in 1866, which agreed to recognize women's professional work and the Women's
Conference Against the First World War, which defined the anti-war nature of
feminist mobilizations.

She also referred to the International Socialist Women's Conference in 1910
in Copenhagen, Denmark when German Clara Zetkin demanded that International
Women's Day be instituted to demand political, civil and economic rights of
all women in the world and proposed March 8.

At the same time, she noted that a massive demonstration on the part of
Russian women in 1917 to protest the war and "pan for peace," precipitated
the revolution. On March 8, the Czar was obligated to resign and under the
provisional government women obtained the right to vote. Moreover, she
recalled that one of the first known texts that recognizes women's rights as
a full human right is the small classic work "A Vindication of the Rights of
Women, by Mary Wollstoncraft, written in 1792.

----------
PERU
Sociologist analyses ambiguity of reconstructionism

By  Hugo Livano

LIMA, March 3, 2003 (ALC) A trend called "reconstructionism" is penetrating
Evangelical charismatic sectors and "could be a means to increase the power
and prestige of the Church, but could also lead to a loss of credibility and
corruption," according to sociologist and pastor Oscar Amat y Leon Perez.
.
Amat y Leon presented his conclusions in a report entitled "Charisma and
politics: motivation for political action in contemporary Peru" during a day
of reflection organized by the Communication Studies Institute (IEC for its
initials in Spanish).

  Reconstructionism is a theological proposal born in the United States in
the 1960s that took on strength in Latin American countries in the 1980s and
is linked to conservative North American religious sectors and the
neoliberal policy.

The proposal assumes that Christians have a type of "manifest destiny" to
assume positions of power in influential spheres of government. The aim is
to rebuild the country with a moral and spiritual foundation and to broaden
the sphere of God's government, he said.

  In Latin America we are moving from a monopolist religious economy to one
marked by competition. However, the quantitative growth of Evangelicals has
also lead to growth in the charismatic field, which seeks to penetrate
different levels of society.

 From there emerges the growing interest of some of these groups in political
participation. Curiously, this interest is strong in Evangelical sectors
that were previously the most opposed to this participation.

We do not believe we are witnessing a use of religion for political ends but
rather the Evangelical presence in the country's political life seeks to use
the political sphere in response to a religious vocation to conquer "power
to rule."

  There are different points of view among Evangelicals about the meaning of
the phenomenon. However, the Evangelical charismatic places emphasis on the
gifts as the recognition of the authority of an individual who has evidence
of the external signs of "God's blessing."

Reconstructionism seeks a return to God's government, through his apostles
(old and current) and therefore returns to a concept of God's kingdom,
however, at the same time it strips it of its aim to revindicate the least
favored.

Within this concept, the future participation of Evangelicals could fall
into a clientele-based relationship where the aim is to seek benefits for
the Church and Evangelicals, supporting candidates who directly or
indirectly benefit Evangelical sectors that have been on the margins of
power for so many years.

Given the evidence surrounding the reconstructionist proposal in other
latitudes, it aims to extrapolate a vertical and authoritarian project which
exists in the Churches as a form of government to implant it in government
and the way the country is run, the sociologist concluded.
---------
PERU
Intense debate about the State's relationship with Churches
By Hugo Levano

LIMA, March 7, 2003 (ALC). Intense discussion was sparked in Peru when
Congress debated an article about the state's relationship with the Churches
during a process to reform the Constitution.

  All media dedicated significant space and airtime to disseminating the
opinion of Catholic and Evangelical leaders about the issue as well as that
of politicians and jurists.

There was a heated exchange of words between leftist representative Javier
Diez Canseco, who proposed that the Constitution declare that Peru is a lay
state and Rafael Rey, who has strong ties to Opus Dei, who said that the
Constitution should remain as it is.

Congress eventually decided to postpone discussion of the text until next
week. The Peruvian Bishops Conference, lead by Bishop Hugo Garaycoa and
leaders from the Peruvian Evangelical Council (CONEP) will seek a
conciliatory text.

Meanwhile, CONEP published a statement offering its point of view. Its
president, the Rev. Dario Lopez, said that Peru is not only plural in
cultural terms but also presents an undeniable religious plurality. He said
no confession currently predominates in the religious field.

  From our perspective, Article 50 of the Constitution (art. 71 in the form
project) should be edited to reflect the changes that have taken place in
the Peruvian religious arena in recent decades.

This is particularly true because non-Catholic religious confessions are
still considered to be simple civil associations although they are "de
  facto" Churches with enough historic roots, political impact and a
significant presence in vast sectors of the Peruvian population.

A democratic state should be neutral in religious material as it should
guarantee a plural, open society that respects the particular religious
beliefs of all citizens.

  The current Constitution, in article 50, admits the possibility that the
State cooperate with non-Catholic religious confessions through agreements.
However, it does not establish religious equality before the law, despite
the fact that different international juridical instruments, signed by the
State, guarantee Liberty, Equality and Justice.

  The state should recognize all religious confessions as equal before the
law and avoid all discrimination and exclusion.

CONEP, he declared, proposes modifying article 50 of the Constitution to
state as follows: The state defines itself as non-confessional, however, it
recognized, respects and guarantees religious freedom and equality. The
State, within a regime of independence and autonomy, establishes forms of
collaboration with different religious confessions."

  In a press conference held today the vice president of CONEP, Rafael Goto,
said that according to recent surveys, practicing Evangelicals, who attend
worship services make up 14 percent of the population, while practicing
Catholics do not number more than 12 percent.

We recognize that we are a minority, but a significant minority that
deserves to be recognized with dignity, he added.

CONEP executive secretary Victor Arroyo noted that while the government has
recognized the Evangelical presence in several aspects, Evangelicals still
face discrimination from authorities of lower rank. For example, when
municipalities demand that Churches have operating licenses or refuse to
grant them tax exonerations that the Catholic Church does benefit from.