wfn.org | Latin America Church News April 12 2003

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

ALC NEWS SERVICE
E-mail: director@alcnoticias.org

Headlines:

The signs of death do not represent God

Consultation calls on Churches to deepen their missionary practice

Lutheran Federation Secretary General reiterates rejection of war against

Foreign debt: illegitimate and anti-ethical, said Argentine pastor

El Salvador war ended with peace agreement but conflict continues: Angel

Lutheran Pre-Assembly sends letter to world Lutheran youth

Historic Churches offer critical support for Lula

EL SALVADOR
The signs of death do not represent God

By Fernando Oshige
SAN SALVADOR, April 6, 2003 (alc). We live in a world where the signs of 
death, such as war, violence, corruption and exclusion are constantly 
present, but none of these problems represent God's will, said Pastor Angel 
Furlan this Sunday at the opening worship service for the Lutheran World 
Federation's Latin American and Caribbean Pre-Assembly.

"God is the God of life and limitless love and his will for humanity is 
life and not suffering," said Furlan, president of the Evangelical Lutheran 
Church of Argentina (IELU) and moderator of the Latin American Lutheran 
Conference of Bishops and Presidents.

The evils that wrack humanity are not related to God but to human sin, he 
said. Death, violence, war, the exploitation of the weak, corruption, 
hunger and misery are not God's will. These evils are expressions of the 
anti-God, the anti-Christ, he said.

However, we know that God, on the Cross, has overcome the power of death 
and comes to those who suffer, who are alone, who are desperate. Life and 
resurrection for all humanity comes from the cross, said Furlan.

This is the faith that encourages our struggle, he said. The struggle of 
Christians will continue in the world and while at times it seems that the 
powers of death are winning, we Christians know that evil will not prevail.

Furlan called on Churches to follow Jesus Christ and to ask where and with 
whom He is in these times. Jesus is with those who are marginalized, 
displaced, the poor, those who are excluded by society, he said.

This is the place where the Church of today should be, to "subvert the 
established disorder." We are called to demonstrate, as the Port Alegre 
World Social Forum sustained, that another world is possible, he said.

The worship service marked the opening of the Pre-assembly of Latin 
American and Caribbean Lutheran Churches, members of the Lutheran World 
Federation.

Fifty representatives are attending the meeting, which will end Wednesday, 
from 14 Latin American and two Caribbean Churches.

This is the final regional pre-assembly before the Lutheran World Assembly 
to be held in Winnipeg, Canada next July. The theme is "For the Healing of 
the World."

During the opening worship service, held in the "La Resurreccisn" Lutheran 
Church in this capital, Bishop Medardo Gomez said that it was a privilege 
for the Salvadoran Church to be the host of the pre-assembly.

He gave a wooden cross to each of the foreign participants. "This is a 
symbol for the healing of our nations and the world," he said.

In the same celebration, co-presided by Bishop Gomez and Dr. Ishmael Noko, 
secretary general of the LWF, the Lutheran Church of Costa Rica was 
incorporated as a full member of the world Lutheran community.	Costa 
Rica's incorporation brings the number of Latin American Lutheran LWF 
members to 14. The LWF represents more than 61 million faithful around the 
world

GERMANY
Consultation calls on Churches to deepen their missionary practice

By Manuel Quintero
BAD SEGEBERG, April 6, 2003 (alc). Participants reaffirmed their commitment 
to place themselves at the service of Gods mission and called on all 
Churches to join this effort at the end of a consultation on mission and 
cooperation that brought together representatives from 22 countries in 
Europe and Latin America.

  In a letter to Churches on two continents, participants at the Bad 
Segeberg meeting recognized that both continents need to deepen the 
missionary practice and the concept that defines it so that Churches can 
live it in an integral manner.

The document affirms that healing and reconciliation are necessary in both 
continents, in particular to heal the painful memory of a coercive and 
oppressive mission that still persists in certain contexts.

The document also laments that there are still tendencies to separate 
service and mission.

While different theological and Church perspectives emerged during the 
meeting, the document emphasized that the unity marking the event revealed 
the wealth of gifts available for mission.

Among possible actions to continue and broaden the process that began in 
Bad Segeberg, the document mentions sharing knowledge and experience in the 
mission field, inter-cultural Bible studies and prayer.

It also proposes that Churches collaborate with the Christian Diaspora in 
Europe and Latin America, both regarding migrants as well as integrating 
contributions to mission in the two continents. They also suggest working 
in new manners to share resources and stimulate the creation of ecumenical 
forums on mission.

  In a brief paragraph the letter refers to the current war in Iraq, 
calling it a sad manifestation of human arrogance.

Harmony and spirituality

In evaluating the consultation, Dr. Ofelia Ortega was particularly 
positive. Europeans and Latin Americans have never lived in such harmony. 
I would define the consultation as a meeting with an extraordinary 
spirituality and at the same time an appropriate level of reflection on 
mission and cooperation, she said.

Rumanian Orthodox Bishop Petronio Floria had a similar evaluation stating 
that the consultation was an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas with 
Europe and Latin America about mission and cooperation.

I hope that this type of consultation is repeated in the near future. Not 
only do we have to learn more from each other, but we also have to try and 
improve our relationship, in particular between Latin America and Eastern 
Europe, he said.

Costa Rican Pastor Nidia Fonseca was positive about the harmony between 
Europeans and Latin Americans and among the different represented Churches.

This has been an experience marked by tolerance and maturity, with a great 
deal of willingness to express spirituality without prejudice, she said.

  For his part, the Anglican Bishop of Portugal, the Rev. Fernando Soares, 
said that the consultation was highly important, as it was the first time 
that representatives from Churches on the two continents joined together to 
define plans in terms of mission and cooperation.

However, he added a note of caution. What remains to be seen is how to 
implement all these things we talked about. We must assume the commitment 
and the challenge with a great deal of responsibility, he said.

On Sunday participants attended a worship service in the Lutheran Cathedral 
of L|beck. Bishop Julio Cesar Holguin, president of the Latin American 
Council of Churches briefly explained the reasons for the Bad Segeberg 
meeting and thanked German Churches for their hospitality.

As well as a letter to Churches in Europe and Latin America, a small 
commission will work to produce a document that will gather the main 
Biblical and theological reflections shared at the event.

EL SALVADOR
Lutheran Federation Secretary General reiterates rejection of war against

SAN SALVADOR, April 7, 2003 (alc). The secretary general of the Lutheran 
World Federation (LWF), Ismael Noko, reiterated his condemnation of the war 
in Iraq during a press conference in the city of San Salvador.

The war against Iraq cannot be justified as the UN inspectors were carrying 
out their work and the United States and Great Britain did not allow them 
to continue to disarm Iraq in the framework of UN agreements.

Noko, age 59, is currently in this city participating Lutheran World 
Federation's Latin American and Caribbean Pre-Assembly. The event began 
April 6 and will conclude on April 9.

Last Saturday Noko was recognized as a "Distinguished Guest" by Carlos 
Rivas Zamora, mayor-elect of San Salvador and on Monday he was given the 
keys to the city of Quezaltepeque, in the department of La Libertad.

The attack against Iraq, he said, has flouted international laws and 
sparked division in the world community. The war has also lead to tension 
between governments and their citizens, something that is evident in the 
massive protest marches against the war in different cities of the world, 
he said.

Noko warned that the United States and Great Britain will win the war but 
will lose peace. The price to pay will be very high, both regarding human 
lives and in financial terms. Moreover, this war will only deepen 
anti-American sentiment around the world and will lead to increased tension 
between Christians and Muslim communities.

EL SALVADOR
Foreign debt: illegitimate and anti-ethical, said Argentine pastor

SAN SALVADOR, April 7, 2003 (alc). The foreign debt of Third World nations 
and Latin America in particular is illegitimate and anti-ethical and we 
should bring this issue before the International Justice Court in The 
Hague, said Argentine Pastor Angel Furlan.

Furlan, president of the Evangelical Lutheran United Church of Argentina, 
is attending the Lutheran World Federation's Latin American and Caribbean 
Pre-Assembly in this city.

Furlan recalled that the Conference of Bishops, Presidents and Pastors from 
Latin American Lutheran Churches, held in Santa Cruz, Bolivia last year, 
addressed three important issues: foreign debt, globalization and human
rights.

The San Salvador meeting is the final regional pre-assembly prior to the 
LWF X Assembly to be held July 21 - 31 in Winnipeg, Canada that will bring 
together more than 400 delegates from 136 Lutheran Churches around the 
world. Pre-assemblies have been held in North America, Europe, Asia and
Africa.

Furlan said that globalization, which could make significant contributions 
to humanity, has fallen into the hands of major First World political and 
military powers. In particular, he noted that the United States has imposed 
economic neoliberalism, using the foreign debt to pressure poor countries 
to adopt this model.

Participants at the Santa Cruz conference, said Furlan, agreed to 
strengthen ecumenical relations to promote studies about the 
ethical-economic relationship, to deepen theological reflection about the 
so-called foreign debt and to declare that this, which has been paid 
several times over, is illegitimate and anti-ethical.

Participants at that conference and at a meeting of Latin American Southern 
Cone Churches held in Florianspolis, Brazil last September, agreed to ask 
the LWF and the World Council of Churches for support so that the UN 
General Assembly lobby the International Justice Court to rule on foreign 
debt obligations.

The foreign debt and its service impede the economic development of Third 
World nations and have a negative impact on their standard of living, 
according agreements stemming from those meetings. Moreover, in the vast 
majority of cases, the debt was incurred without public knowledge or
benefits.

The World Bank has recognized that 30 percent of the loan never entered the 
beneficiary nation and was used to buy weapons and for other repressive 
policies spearheaded by dictatorships.

According to Furlan, the Argentine debt, and that of other countries, has 
been paid many times. Between 1976 and 2000 the Argentine debt increased 
from US$8bn to US160bn but in that period Argentina paid more than US$200bn.

Part of the increase was due to a unilateral hike in interest payments 
implemented by the United States and other creditor nations in the 1980s 
and imposed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank through 
adjustment programs and so-called restructuring.

The so-called Brady Plan, supposedly geared toward reducing the debt, has 
lead to an unrestricted economic opening and the sale of all public assets.

In Argentina, 90 percent of banks and 40 percent of industry are in the 
hands of international capital, he said.

In the 1980s, Latin American countries earned US$177.8bn from 
privatization.However, in 1999 alone, according to the International 
Monetary Fund, foreign debt service payments in Latin America and the 
Caribbean reached US$176.9bn.

As a result, Latin American Lutheran Churches should reach the X LWF 
Assembly with an articulated discourse about the issue of the foreign debt, 
declaring it to be illegitimate and anti-ethical, said Furlan.

At the same time, he said that countries should not accept campaigns that 
seek to condone the debt or the argument that countries are insolvent. 
Rather, we should insist that Latin American countries and those of the 
Third World in general, are creditors of rich nations for the tremendous 
social debt that has been racked up by the neoliberal policy.

EL SALVADOR
El Salvador war ended with peace agreement but conflict continues: Angel

SAN SALVADOR, April 8, 2003 (alc). Eleven years after peace agreements were 
signed in El Salvador, putting an end to a civil war that left more than 
75,000 dead in its wake and thousands disappeared, it is possible to state 
that the war ended but the root problems remain, said Dr. Angel Ibarra.

  According to Ibarra, the national political climate improved, the Human 
Rights Defense Office was created, political repression ended and people 
are free to participate in elections. However, all of this is not enough 
and does not meet the expectations of the people who forged the end of a 
brutal war that racked the country between 1980 and 1992, he said.

"To the contrary, I believe that the situation has worsened," he told ALC. 
Neoliberal policies are now in place, many state companies have been 
privatized, the State no longer attends the basic needs of the population, 
thousands of workers have been fired and poverty has increased," he said.

According to Ibarra more than 600,000 of 6 million Salvadorans are 
surviving thanks to emergency food aid projects.

Ibarra spoke Tuesday at the Lutheran World Federation's Latin American and 
Caribbean Pre-Assembly addressing Central American and Salvadoran reality 
in particular. The meeting, held April 6-9 in San Salvador, is the 
preparatory meeting for the X  LWF General Assembly that will take place in 
Winnipeg, Canada from July 21 -31.

After the peace agreements there was a "honey moon" period but that stage 
is over, he said. Today the social movements, the professional unions are 
raising their voice in protest, conscious that the neoliberal model will 
not resolve the serious economic and social problems that affect vast 
sectors of the country.

  Ibarra, a doctor and former dean of the Lutheran University and director 
of the National Salvadoran Ecological Union (UNES), said it was essential 
that each country strengthen its civil social movements, as well as the 
Continental Social Alliance, created in the framework of the World Social 
Forum.

  The US project, he said, is to extend its dominion from Alaska to 
Patagonia, to push free trade agreements and guarantee investment for its 
firms, leaving social and environmental aspects aside. In an asymmetric 
relationship, the United States applies measures to protect its market and 
demands that all Southern markets be completely open.

We must oppose this agenda and all attempts to dominate and we must create 
an awareness that "another world is possible," as we learned in the Social 
Forum in Porto Alegre, he said. He underscored the presence of Lutheran 
Churches in this effort and said that while the road may not be easy and 
there are obstacles we cannot "heal" the world if we do not oppose this 
globalization.

EL SALVADOR
Lutheran Pre-Assembly sends letter to world Lutheran youth

SAN SALVADOR, April 9, 2003 (alc). The Latin American and Caribbean 
Lutheran Pre-Assembly sent a letter to the Pre-Assembly of Young People 
that will take place just before the X General Assembly of the Lutheran 
World Federation in Winnipeg, next July.

The letter states that representatives from Latin American and Caribbean 
Churches meeting in San Salvador "denounce the economic impoverishment of 
the majority of the population (in the region)."

They affirm that the situation "is a concrete expression of the neoliberal 
economic model as well as an ideology that supports the excluding economic 
globalization, in the hands of major national and multi-national economic 
and financial powers."

"This situation leads to marginalization, violence, injustice and 
destruction, affecting all of creation," they said. It underscores that the 
people who form part of it "voluntarily or involuntarily have become 
accomplices."

In order to reinforce the sense of communion among Lutheran Churches each 
regional pre-assembly sent a message to the next one. Latin America, which 
met April 6-9, was the last region to celebrate its pre-assembly. It 
received a letter from Africa and in turn sent a letter to the young people 
who will meet in Winnipeg.

The message notes that "young people, like children, bear the brunt of the 
effects of the excluding economic globalization."

Latin American leaders affirmed their commitment to seek paths that will 
allow young people to have greater participation in all Church
decision-making.

The Latin American Pre-Assembly that studied the theme "For the Healing of 
the World" also sent a letter to Lutheran Church leaders on the continent.

Participants reaffirmed the concepts expressed in the letter to young 
people and invited Churches to "maintain hope and to seek signs of healing 
in all the situations of exclusion where God's love has been affected."

We recognize that God's love heals all of creation. For this reason we 
understand that our commitment, in particular with those who suffer the 
greatest exclusion, including boys and girls, young people, women and those 
who are discriminated because they are HIV positive, they concluded.

BRAZIL
Historic Churches offer critical support for Lula

BRASILIA, April 11, 2003 (alc).  Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da 
Silva hopes that Churches participate in the implementation of social 
programs in his administration but that they mainly act as critical voices 
that point out mistakes and correct the government's path.

The president made the comments at a meeting with leaders from the National 
Council of Brazilian Christian Churches (CONIC) and the Ecumenical Service 
Coordinator (CESE).

Leaders from both ecumenical organizations and representatives for 
traditional Churches, both Catholic and Protestant, said that the election 
of Lula as president of the Republic has given Brazilian society a shot of 
optimism and hope. They also expressed their hope that the government 
listens to what Churches have to say about the reality facing the Brazilian 
people.

The first vice president of CONIC, Lutheran Pastor Rolf Sch|nemann said 
that Lula spoke about the first 100 days of his administration and 
reaffirmed his commitment to priorize public policies that alleviate the 
pain and suffering of millions of Brazilians.

He also said, however, that sometimes changes cannot take place as fast as 
people and the president himself would like.

Leaders from CESE and CONIC emphasized that historic Christian Churches are 
present across national territory and spoke about the wide range of 
experiences they have in the social arena alongside the most marginalized 
sectors.

The government could take advantage of these experiences and reproduce them 
in order to draft new social policies, they said. They emphasized that they 
do not want positions in government as they aim to conserve their autonomy.

During the Brasilia meeting, leaders from CESE and CONIC told President 
Lula that they support the Brazilian position regarding the war unleashed 
by the United States and their allies in Iraq. Both said that they are 
willing to collaborate in implementing the Zero Hunger Program and insisted 
that the agrarian reform be broadened.

Prior to meeting with the president, CESE and CONIC leaders met with the 
president's special advisor Fray Betto who explained the Zero Hunger 
Program and told them how Churches can collaborate with this program.

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