wfn.org | ALC News Service Noticias Nov 24 2003

[George Conklin <gconklin@igc.org>]

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

ALC HEADLINES:
BRAZIL: Movement defends non-confessional religious teaching
ARGENTINA: Mortimer Arias proposes re-reading of Jesus missionary mandate
SOUTH AFRICA: After its Kairos Moment the South African Church is mute
PERU: Brother Pablos visit in the media spotlight
BRAZIL: Afro-descendents demand democratization in radio and TV concessions

BRAZIL
Movement defends non-confessional religious teaching

RIO DE JANEIRO, November 17, 2003 (alc). The Inter-Religious Movement of 
Rio de Janeiro (MIR) held a protest last Thursday in front of the 
legislative assembly to object to the governor Rosinha Matheuss veto of a 
legal bill about religious education in public schools.

MIR, according to the Kairos news agency, states that religious teaching 
should be carried out by Churches and religions themselves. The role of the 
public school is to give students a sociological and historic vision of the 
different religions, without discriminating among the different creeds.

We need an education for peace, that will help break down the prejudices 
regarding those who are different and the only way to overcome prejudice is 
through knowledge, said MIR coordinator Andre Porto.

The Evangelical bench of the Legislative Asembly in Rio de Janeiro is 
opposed to confessional religious teaching.

The Law on Non Confessional Religious Teaching, presented by Congressman 
Carlos Minc (Partido de los Trabajadores) was approved by the Assembly 52 
votes to 2. How can we offer classes to all the Evangelical denominations 
that exist, asked Evangelical Pastor and representative of the Partido 
Movimiento Democratico Brasileqo (PMDB) Edna Rodrigues.

Governor Rosinha Matheus is married to former Governor Anthony Garotinho 
and both are Presbyterians. The law that establishes confessional religious 
teaching was presented by former Catholic representative Carlos Dias and 
passed in 2002 by then governor Garotinho.

Pastor Jose Robero Cavalcante, of the United Presbyterian Church, said he 
felt mistreated by governor Matheus, who scheduled an interview with the 
secretary of state for government integration, Luiz Rogirio Magalhces to 
address the issue the same day the veto was published.

  We are now campaigning for non confessional religious teaching the law 
on confessional teaching, as well as being unconstitutional is conservative 
and politically incorrect. It is unfortunate that the governor did not even 
wish to hear our arguments, said Cavalcante.

Religious teaching in public schools has been on the agenda since last 
October when the State Education Secretariat published the conditions for 
those who wished to teach the course. Among these conditions it states that 
a teacher can be suspended or even dismissed if they lose their faith or 
become agnostic or an atheist.

The regulations stated that the National Bishops Conference can certify 
religious teachers who are Catholic, The College of Evangelical Ministers 
can certify the Evangelicals and the Rabbinical authority those who are 
Jewish.

It also states that there are 342 positions for Catholic teachers, 132 for 
Evangelicals and 26 for other creeds. The public school system in Rio de 
Janeiro has 1.5 million enrolled students.

ARGENTINA
Mortimer Arias proposes re-reading of Jesus missionary mandate

BUENOS AIRES, November 17, 2003 (alc). When we read the Gospels we find 
many tasks ordered by Christ and his followers and one of the many 
interpretations that that keep arising is related to the missionary, 
evangelizing mandate of Jesus and a book presented here today offers some 
answers.

In the book, "El Ultimo Mandato: Una relectura desde Amirica Latina", 
author Mortimer Arias, an Uruguayan Methodist pastor who has ministered in 
several Latin American countries examines Jesus missionary mandate focused 
toward the Western hemisphere. The book was launched in the Evangelical 
Theological Studies Institute (ISEDET).

What was the mission of the Church? What was Jesus final and definitive 
mandate? What does evangelism consist of? What is its motivation, contents, 
methods, agents and purpose, are some of the fundamental questions that 
Arias seeks to clarify.

With this text, published by the Clara publishing house and World Vision, 
the author hopes to motivate the task to share the Good News, the final 
mandate from our Lord and which gives sense and meaning to our lives.

The book is accompanied by a 50-page methodological guide, written by 
educator Eunice Arias, daughter of the author. The aim is to facilitate 
study in Churches and communities interested in the issue of Evangelism in 
the Latin American context.

Guido Bello Henriquez, superintendent of the Evangelical Methodist Church 
of Argentina, and general coordinator of the Evangelical Latin American 
Christian Education Commission (CELADEC) presented the author. Event 
organizers Professor Jairo Roa and the Rev. Harold Segura from World Vision 
were also present.

Arias was born in Durazno, Uruguay. He studied in the Theology Faculty in 
Buenos Aires. He was pastor of the Methodist Church in Uruguay for 16 
years. He then moved to Bolivia where he was pastor for 20 years and 
Executive Secretary of the Methodist Church. He was also the first bishop 
of the Methodist Church of Bolivia for six years.

He gave the inaugural conference at the V World Council of Churches 
Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya in 1975. He then traveled to the United States 
and obtained a PhD from the Methodist University of Perkins.

Upon his return to Bolivia he became Executive Secretary of the Evangelical 
Methodist Council of Churches of Latin America (CIEMAL) and is the first 
secretary for Mission and  Evangelism for the Latin American Council of 
Churches.

He was jailed for more than 40 days after the Luis Garcia Meza military 
coup in 1980 and then went into exile. After a short period in Brazil the 
Claremont, California seminary invited him teach  Mission and Evangelism.

He was dean of the Latin American Biblical Seminary in San Jose, Costa Rica 
between 1986 and 1989 and then taught Mission and Evangelism in the Illif, 
Denver Colorado Seminary. Upon his retirement he returned to Uruguay.

He has given conferences in different universities in the United States and 
Europe and has published several books including the Clamor of My People, 
Salvation is Liberation, Announcing the Kingdom of God and the Final 
Command. He has also written several hymns.

SOUTH AFRICA
After its Kairos Moment the South African Church is mute

By Manuel Quintero
CAPE TOWN, November 18, 2003 (alc). Kairos: a moment of transformation 
through faith, seems to be something of the past. South African Churches 
that once produced a document that helped channel the energy of many people 
around the world to struggle for this countrys liberation seem to have 
opted for silence and a critical solidarity that raises doubts about its 
prophetic vocation.

In the most difficult days in the battle against apartheid, when repression 
made the work of unions, student association and liberation movements 
almost impossible, the Churches were one of the few democratic 
organizations that managed to survive. This simple fact converted them into 
meeting places and an undeniable bastion of opposition to the regime.

A Church within the Church was created, constituted by those who were 
most radically opposed to apartheid. In September 1985 this group of 
bishops, pastors, theologians and lay people produced the famous Kairos 
Document, a landmark in the history of Christianity and the ecumenical 
movement in this country.

The liberation movements clearly recognized the significant role of the 
Churches, something that was demonstrated by the appointment of the 
Anglican Bishop of Johannesburg, Desmond Tutu to preside the Truth and 
Reconciliation Commission, a body that played a key role in the transition.

However, the triumph of the liberation movements meant that some of the 
most prominent figures of this prophetic Church are now incorporated in 
the State apparatus, in non government organizations and in political 
parties and therefore the Church has lost many of its prophets, said Dr. 
Charles Villa-Vicencio, director of the Justice and Reconciliation 
Institute based in this city.

Today the Church is divided into three groups: those who work closely with 
and in government, a small minority that criticizes some official policies 
and a huge mass that is still looking for a way to become involved in this 
process, said Villa-Vicencio.

In any case, the predominant attitude seems to be neutrality if not close 
complicity with those who govern the country as was evident in the case of 
Zimbabwe.

South African Churches are well aware that recent elections in Zimbabwe 
were fixed so that Mugabe could continue in power and they recognize that 
there is a dictator in that country. However, the South African Council of 
Churches recently published a document affirming that the elections were 
fair, said the Rev. Joe Modhela, director of communications for the council.

The reason for this flagrant distortion of the truth? To avoid a conflict 
with the official position of the South African government that has sought 
to throw a smoke screen over the reality in the neighboring country.

The relationship with the government has been defined as one of critical 
solidarity. This means participating in the transformation process yet 
ensuring that the criticism does not make the solidarity disappear. In this 
dynamic, some principles must be compromised to ensure that this solidarity 
exists, said the Rev. Modhela.

However, in his opinion there is in fact very little criticism, something 
that is also true for other political forces and individuals.

This is an attitude based on fear of losing the relationship with old 
comrades in the battle against apartheid, said Modhela.

The council groups together 26 of the biggest Christian Churches in the 
country, including the Roman Catholic Church and is the most representative 
voice of the South African Christian people.

Similar to other African countries, the South African population is mostly 
Christian. Around 26 of the 41 million residents, or 63 percent of the 
population, is affiliated to a Christian Church. Of the remainder, 2 
percent are Muslim, 1.5 percent Hindu and 33.5 percent practice ancestral 
and animist religions.

The loss of the common enemy

Some analysts believe that the disappearance of apartheid also mean the 
loss of an easily identified enemy for Churches. In the following years 
Churches have not been capable of identifying their new role in the 
construction of the nation.

Added to this is the fact that the South African constitution recognized 
the rights and equality of all religions and establishes a secular state 
where Christianity does not enjoy any privileges, much less the hegemony it 
enjoyed in its reformed, Calvinist version during the apartheid regime.

There are examples, however, that demonstrate the renewed vitality of 
certain Churches in the South African context. Perhaps the most notable is 
the Roman Catholic Church, which was frequently repressed under the 
apartheid regime. There are many highly politicized priests in poor 
neighborhoods who play a key role in the battle against injustice, said the 
Rev. Modhela.

Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg, has obtained international notoriety 
for his statements on HIV/AIDS and his position in favor of raising the ban 
on the use of condoms in the country, which has placed him in open 
opposition to the official Vatican position.

According to estimates more than 10 percent of South Africas population of 
4.7 million is HIV positive. The most pessimistic estimates state that 
within three years, 250,000 South Africans could die a year and that in 
2008 the life expectancy in the country could drop to 40 years unless 
urgent measures are taken.

Among Pentecostal Churches, the majority the fruit of US missionary 
efforts, there is a significant effort to raise moral and ethical issues on 
the public agenda and the permanent mobilization of less favored sectors, 
an indispensable element in the consolidation of civil society and 
democracy in South Africa.

There are also signs that historic Churches and the ecumenical movement is 
beginning to reconsider its attitude and assume a more critical and 
pro-active role in the face of the poor, the proliferation of AIDs and the 
inadequate land distribution, without overlooking corruption in government 
circles.

Perhaps this attitude of genuine critical solidarity is what inspired the 
words of the outgoing Methodist bishop of Cape Town, the Rev. Peter Storey 
who, during the act to install his successor the Rev. Ivan Abrahams said 
You cannot dine with Cesar one day and prophesy to him the next.

The true prophets, as Scripture teachers, were rarely very popular. 
However, perhaps the day will arrive, for the good of South African society 
and many other countrys around the world, that governments will have the 
wisdom to listen to them.

PERU
Brother Pablos visit in the media spotlight

LIMA, November 18, 2003 (alc). Evangelical preacher Paul Finkenbinders, 
better know as Brother Pablo, five-day visit to Lima caught the attention 
of local press.

Several dailies and television stations published stories and interviews 
with Brother Pablo, who held a private audience with Congress president 
Henry Pease Monday. On Friday, Brother Pablo attended a supper with 
Evangelical leaders and political and social authorities. On Saturday he 
met with young people in a downtown park and the final night of his visit 
he and his wife attended a special event with Evangelical Churches in the 
Dibos Coliseum.

The 82-year-old international preacher held his final tour of Latin America 
accompanied by Carlos Rey, a Colombian Pastor who will replace him the 
production of a A Message to the Conscience and will preside the Hermano 
Pablo Evangelical Association.

At Congress he met with legislators Gloria Helfer, Santos Jimes and Carlos 
Chavez, as well as members of the association he leads.

Finkenbinder is well loved in Peru for having promoted, together with Pedro 
Ferreira, director of the Pacifico Communications Group, the National 
Prayer Movement at a time when the country was racked by terrorist violence 
in 1989.

Brother Pablo was born in Puerto Rico in 1921 and in 1955 he began 
preaching over the radio. His A Message to the Conscience, aimed at 
spreading the Gospel to all people regardless of their denominations, made 
him popular throughout Latin America and was the foundation for one of the 
most extensive mass dissemination instruments on the continent.

 From his first trips to remote villages in El Salvador to meetings 
throughout Latin America attended by thousands, his passion for preaching 
Christs Gospel has marked his life. He has also made extensive use of the 
radio and television.

His program A Message to the Conscience is watched, heard or read in 30 
countries around the world some 14,000 a week although Hermano Pablo 
stopped taping the television program in 1996 when he realized he was 
making mistakes when he read the teleprompter, according the daily Peru 21.

When he turned 20 he married Linda, his faithful lifelong companion. When 
they were 22 they moved to El Salvador where they lived for 21 years. There 
in 1955, Brother Pablo began to preach the Gospel by radio.

In 1960 Brother Pablo turned to a new media, the television, to present 
dramatized parables and Bible stories. He eventually produced six Biblical 
movies that continue to be shown today.

In 1964 he and his family moved to Costa Mesa, California where they 
established the headquarters for his ministry. The radio program and the 
written column is transmitted to  30 countries around the world today.

The international preacher has received many awards and distinctions from 
groups like the National Association of Christian Movies, the Religious 
Press Association, the National Association of Christian Radio stations and 
in 1993 he received a Honoris Causa doctorate in divinity from the Southern 
California College (Vanguard University).

In 1996 the IberAmerican Confederation of Christian Communicators and Mass 
Media (COICOM) named Brother Pablo and his wife Linda COICOM Ambassador 
Ministers for IberAmerica.

Carlos Rey Stewart is responsible for the daily administration of the 
Association and continues to tape, as he has since 1995, messages with a 
marked Hispanic cultural emphasis.

BRAZIL
Afro-descendents demand democratization in radio and TV concessions

BRASILIA, November 21, 2003 (alc). The Dombali Cultural Society, that 
groups together Black people and Afro-descendents, convened the 
International Democracy and Communication - the Imperative of Inclusion 
Seminar, which will take place November 25-27 in Brasilia.

Dombali questions the process of radio and television concessions carried 
out by the government. According to the movement it grants special 
privileges to the conglomerates that are in the hands of 12 families. This 
concentration, it states, makes democracy vulnerable in Brazil.

Moreover, it states that the Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva government has 
recognized groups linked to Evangelical Churches and the Catholic Church. 
The concession process will allow the Catholic to create a National 
Television Network.

However, the process excludes the terreiros, worship places for Candomble 
and are based on political and economic criteria that do not allow any 
minority access.

In a seminar held in Porto Alegre on November 14 the president of the 
Dombali Cultural Society Regina dos Santos denounced what she said was 
intolerance toward African religions.

The mentioned television programs with an Evangelical tendency that tend to 
anathematize African religions. This persecution of Evangelical Churches, 
she said, harms the self-esteem of young Black people and young 
Afro-descendants.

The working document for the seminar states that the Black population is 
not reflected in a positive manner in the media and that when it appears, 
its image has features constructed by racial prejudice, that strengthen the 
distorted and stereotypical images of the reality.

Dombali affirms that, in the face of the racism and discrimination in 
Brazilian media, in particular television, the radio and televisions 
concessions should change. Communication media in Brazil needs to be 
allied with the promotion of democracy and human rights, it said.

Dombali, said Dos Santos, means one who does, in the Bambara tradition 
from the Congo. The Seminar has the support of the Canadian International 
Development Agency, the National Communication Forum Against Racism 
(FONACOR) and TV-Affirmation, Black People in TV.

With the conclusions of the seminar, Dombali aims to present legal bills 
that seem to democratize and ensure cultural and ethnical equality in the 
communication and in the media. A representative from the World Association 
for Christian Communication (WACC) in London has been invited to the event 
in Brasilia.

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