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HEADLINES

CUBA: Canadian University bestows title on Cuban theologian
PERU: Churches and institutions reaffirm CONEPs representative role
BRAZIL: Catholic Church ratifies support for WCC Assembly in Brazil
CHILE: Bishops establish procedure to deal with priests accused of sexual
abuse
ARGENTINA: ACIERA promotes plan to sponsor the victims of flooding
PERU: Two Swedish citizens and one Peruvian killed in car accident in Peru

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CUBA
Canadian University bestows title on Cuban theologian

By Josi Aurelio Paz
HAVANA, May 12, 2003 (alc). The United Theological College, de Montreal, 
Canada, granted Cuban Presbyterian Adolfo Ham Reyes an Honoris Causa 
doctorate in divinity for his work in theological teaching.

Ham, currently director of the Institute of Biblical and Theological 
Studies (ISEBI), in Havana, part of the Cuban Council of Churches Studies 
Center, is also a pastor emeritus from the Presbyterian Reformed Church of 
Luyano, a working class barrio in the Cuban capital.

As he headed to Montreal, Ham said I do not consider this an award for me 
individually but rather for the development of a theology with Cuban roots.

In 1960 I began to realize it when I stood before a class. Today I have 
fully confirmed it. One does not go to a class to teach anything but to 
share and exchange with students from whom one always learns a great deal.

My work with ISEBI has been decisive, which is about to celebrate its 10th 
anniversary and which has had four graduating classes to date. I was able 
to develop the methods and the means for very humble people to carry out a 
theological analysis of their reality using simple, easily applicable 
techniques.

Of Baptist origin, Dr. Ham Reyes has been, among many other things, dean of 
the Seminary of the Baptist Convention of Eastern Cuba, an official for 
several years in the Caribbean Christian Conference (CCC) and president of 
the then Ecumenical Council of Cuba (CEC). He is currently also a professor 
in the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Matanzas (SET).

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PERU
Churches and institutions reaffirm CONEPs representative role

LIMA, May 15, 2003 (alc). Representatives from more than 20 denominations 
and Evangelical institutions, members of the National Evangelical Council 
of Peru (CONEP) agreed to reaffirm the representative role of the
institution.

The decision was made at an Extraordinary Assembly held last Saturday. 
Participants agreed that CONEP is considered the most important and 
historic institution that represents the majority of Evangelical Churches 
in the country before state and Peruvian society.

The decision was made in response to the creation of the Union of 
Evangelical Christian Churches of Peru created last month by leaders from 
several Evangelical Churches and communities.

The organizers are not members of CONEP and said that UNICEP should not be 
seen as opposition and that it is open to dialogue with this body and all 
other Evangelical sectors.

However, UNICEP was created after a parliamentary debate about a 
constitutional reform project that was accepted by CONEP According to 
UNICEP, the new reform betrays a legitimate demand for religious equality.

Assembly delegates also approved a motion to back the current CONEP 
Directive Council for their leadership in a process that culminated with 
the approval of Article 71 in the Constitutional reform project that refers 
to the issue of religious freedom.

However, they also recognized the need to strengthen mechanisms of 
communication to construct healthy relationship with Churches and 
denominations. They also agreed that strengthening CONEP is not just the 
responsibility of the Board of Directors but also the active commitment of 
all members.

We seek unity because we are sustained by the principle that the Church is 
the body of Christ. Unity is one of the most important pillars of the 
Churchs missionary work, without it our pastoral vocation is meaningless, 
said Pastor Rodrigo Espinoza, of the Assemblies of God Church.

Pastor Jesus Mellado, president of the Evangelical Peruvian Church said 
that CONEP has significant leadership in the life of the Peruvian Church 
and therefore its representative role should be strengthened both within 
the Evangelical community and before the state and society.

Members expressed concern because there is an attempt to divide the body of 
Christ from within the Evangelical community itself. Pastor Pedro Arana, 
secretary general of the Peruvian Bible Society, manifested his concern 
about recent events.

If as Christians we cannot dialogue, disagree and reach consensus, what 
moral authority do we have to demand this same attitude and conduct from 
our government, he said.

Pastor Dario Lopez, president of CONEP, said it is necessary to strengthen 
unity looking to the future but we must also be conscious of our historic 
memory.

CONEP is an instrument that God has used since its founding to strengthen 
unity between churches and to raise a prophetic voice in the face of the 
manifestation of sin in Peruvian society and has been a space for dialogue 
and cooperation among Churches.

The meeting was attended by representatives from the Assemblies of God, the 
Anglican Church, the Evangelical Peruvian Church, the Church of God, the 
Evangelical Missionary Movement, the Christian and Missionary Alliance, the 
World Presbyterian Missions, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and the 
Church of the Pilgrims.

Other participants included the Baptist Evangelical Convention, the 
Association of Autonomous Pentecostal Churches, the Evangelical 
Presbyterian and the Reform Church, the Biblical Union, the Missionary 
Association to the Nations, the Association of Evangelical University 
Groups and World Vision in Peru.

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BRAZIL
Catholic Church ratifies support for WCC Assembly in Brazil

PORTO ALEGRE, May 15, 2003 (alc). The Brazilian Roman Catholic Churches is 
not a member of the World Council of Churches (WCC) but has pledged its 
full support for the upcoming IX WCC Assembly, slated to take place in 
Porto Alegre in February 2006.

The statement was made by Catholic Bishop Sinesio Bohn, at a meeting with 
WCC general secretary Dr.Konrad Raiser. Bohn, formerly responsible for 
ecumenism in Brazilian Bishops' Conference (CNBB), represented the CNBB at 
the meeting with Raiser.

The Bishops Conference is a member of the National Council of Christian 
Churches of Brazil (CONIC), the body that invited the World Council of 
Churches to hold its IX Assembly in Brazil.

Raiser is currently in Brazil visiting the city where the assembly will be 
held and met with Bohn, Bishop of Santa Cruz do Sul and representatives 
from other Churches.

At the meeting, Raiser said that one of the main reasons for choosing 
Brazil for the assembly was the excellent ecumenical relations in the
country.

Accompanied by pastors Marilia Sch|ller y Sabine Udodesko, WCC secretaries
and

local Church leaders, Raiser visited the events center in the Pontifical 
Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, where the Assembly will be held. 
Visitors were impressed with the existing structure.

Participants included Anglican bishop and host Orlando Santos de Oliveria, 
Pastor Walter Altmann, president of the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran 
Confession of Brazil, and Bishop Luis Vergmlio Batista da Rosa, head of the 
Methodist Church, CONIC coordinator in Rio Grade do Sul, Anglican Bishop 
Naudau Alves Gomes and CONIC executive	secretary Pastor Ervino Schmidt.

Raiser and Brazilian Church leaders also met with the governor of the state 
of Rio Grande do Sul, Germano Rigotto. The WCC secretary general explained 
what the WCC is and the significance of an assembly of this magnitude. The 
governor offered the state's logistical collaboration.

Raiser also met with members of the Catholic, Methodist, Anglican and 
Lutheran community in the city during an event held in the IECLB Church of 
the Reconciliation, located in downtown Porto Alegre. WCC Secretary General 
explained how the ecumenical body operates, how it works, the issues that 
will be debated and key concerns for the WCC.

During the course of his visit to Porto Alegre, Raiser made several 
references to the work carried out by the Latin American Council of 
Churches (CLAI), in particular the effort it has made to include 
Pentecostals in ecumenical dialogue, one of the factors responsible for the 
unique ecumenism in Latin America. He also underscored the work of CONIC in 
the search for the common testimony of Christian Churches in Brazil.

It is the first time that the WCC will hold an Assembly in Latin America. 
The WCC  Assembly, held every seven years, brings together around 3,500 
participants including delegates from member Churches, speakers, observers, 
guests, visitors and journalists.

In Brazil, WCC members include the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran 
Confession, the Christian Reformed Church of Brazil, the Episcopal Anglican 
Church of Brazil, the Methodist Church in Brazil and the United 
Presbyterian Church of Brazil.

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CHILE
Bishops establish procedure to deal with priests accused of sexual abuse

SANTIAGO , May 15, 2003 (alc).	Chilean Catholic Bishops approved 
procedures to be followed when priests are accused of sexually abusing 
children.

The issue has been pending since the 84th Episcopal Assembly, held last 
November, when Bishops decided to consult a group of lay experts in civil, 
criminal and cannon law prior to adopting a decision about priests accused 
of being pedophiles.

Bishops agreed to create a justice promoter in each diocese who will 
receive any accusations formulated in his jurisdiction.

This promoter will have the specific mission of listening, gathering and 
discerning any accusations that are formulated and to present a detailed 
report to the bishop in order to take the corresponding measures, said the 
statement from the Bishops.

The Bishops spokesman Enrique Palet said that the justice promoter is a 
position contemplated in Cannon Law and which should exist in all dioceses 
in the country if there are any that do not have a justice promoter they 
will be designated.

According to the agreement, the position should be held by a priest with 
proven honor, prudence, openness and understanding to handle this type of 
process.

For their part, bishops agreed that the mere transfer to another place 
should not be considered a preventive measure or sufficient medicine.

Up until now the Catholic Church tended to transfer priests to another 
place and, in certain cases, to try and rehabilitate them.

As a result, Bishop Francisco Jose Cox is currently living in a Swiss 
monastery and the Rev. Victor Hugo Carrera is in Italy despite the fact 
that the Supreme Court has called for his extradition.

The Chilean bishops adopted these procedures agreed by their counterparts 
in the United States after the scandal in the diocese of Boston in 2002 
when a bishop was questioned for moving a pedophile priest from parish to 
parish.

However, the Chilean Bishops did not follow the model of the North American 
hierarchy regarding the removal of accused priests during the investigation 
or the judgment of cases committed many years ago.

The Chilean Bishops recognized that the victim has the right to make a 
denouncement before civilian authorities and not just before the Churchs 
justice promoter.

Nothing exonerates a member of the clergy or religious order from 
responding for their actions before civil justice and members of the 
Church cannot refuse to collaborate when necessary, said the bishops.

The accusations that the justice promoter receives are protected by secrecy 
in order to safe guard the good name of people, to protect the victims and 
to facilitate the gathering of all information.

The justice promoter, said the agreement, will receive the denouncements 
that are written, signed and ratified under oath before God, in the 
presence of a Church notary.

  The accusations can also be channeled through parish priests, deans and 
Episcopal vicariates who will then take them to the competent authority 
without passing judgment or carrying out any investigation to determine 
whether they are true.

If the accusations are substantiated, the verdict of the Bishop and the 
investigation material will be sent to the Apostolic Tribunal of the 
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican who will then 
initiate a canonical trial, ensuring the accused exercises legitimate 
defense and due process.

The involved priest can be stripped of his collar, as took place in the 
case involving Jose Andres Aguirre, processed for nine denouncements of 
sexual abuse.

A state official, Marcela Abarca, psychologist from the National Childrens 
Service said that the Churchs decision is acceptable but the courts have 
the last word.

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ARGENTINA
ACIERA promotes plan to sponsor the victims of flooding

BUENOS AIRES, May 16, 2003 (alc). The Christian Alliance of Protestant 
Churches of the Argentine Republic (ACIERA) proposed that each Protestant 
congregation in the country adopt a family from the province of Santa Fe, 
affected by recent flooding.

ACIERA is a federation that brings together more than 10,000 member 
Churches nationwide. Ruben Proietti, ACIERA president said The Bible 
teaches us that Christians should show Christs love in a practical manner.

Our aim is to act in accordance with the spirit of the Gospel and to offer 
a public testimony of Christs love, added Pastor Proietti.

Torrential rain at the beginning of the month caused flooding in the 
provinces of Santa Fe, Entre Rios and Santiago del Estero. The city of 
Santa Fe was the most affected. The catastrophe left 22 people dad, 525,000 
victims and more than US$100 million in damages.

Protestant Churches across the nation have mobilized to collect aid for the 
victims. ACIERA organized collection centers in the federal capital and in 
the provinces. Proietti underlined that this sponsorship plan seeks to 
multiply and focus the aid through ACIERA to the neediest families.

The initiative is being carried out in cooperation with the Pastoral 
Council of Santa Fe, which will provide a list of the needy families and 
distribute the donations that reach the city. For its part, the ACIERA 
womens department will coordinate the sponsorship with Churches affiliated 
with the Federation in order to accelerate and guarantee that the material 
is sent and delivered.

The Pastoral Council of Santa Fe expressed its gratitude and underlined how 
moved it was by this proposal. Carlos Carranza, responsible for the 
Ministry of Reconstruction, a Santa Fe provincial government body, said it 
is an example worth of imitation.

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PERU
Two Swedish citizens and one Peruvian killed in car accident in Peru

LIMA, May 16, 2003 (alc). Per Leonardsson, Latin American regional 
secretary for the Church of Sweden Mission and Anna Katrina Frandsen, a 
Swedish Lutheran Missionary died in a car accident Friday at 6:50 on the 
highway between Arequipa and Cuzco.

Peruvian Peter Carpio Sotelo, age 41, was also killed. Carpio was executive 
director of the Social Action and Development organization (ASDE) from the 
city of Arequipa. Lorenzo Guillen Apaza, age 50, who was driving the car, 
was seriously injured and hospitalized in Arequipa.

According to police sources the accident took place when the four were 
headed to Callalli to visit projects sponsored by the Swedish. The vehicle 
apparently went off the road and feel into a 300-meter abysm.

Leonardsson , age 45, traveled to Peru this week to participate in a 
consultation on social projects in Lutheran Churches in South and Central 
America to be inaugurated May 19 in the Jose Antonio hotel in Miraflores. 
Taking advantage of his presence in Peru, the Frandsens had programmed a 
series of meetings and visits to counterparts.

Anna Katrina, wife of the missionary and representative of the Lutheran 
World Federation in Peru, Jens Frandsen, worked in the Bartolomi de las 
Casas Documentation Center, based in Lima.

The Frandsens were to finish their contract this year in Peru and were 
planning on returning to Sweden before December.

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