wfn.org | Suspect Arrested in 2004 Murder of Brazilian Lutheran

["Frank Imhoff" <Frank.Imhoff@elca.org>]

Suspect Arrested in 2004 Murder of Brazilian Lutheran Missionary
Noko: "Cause of Further Distress" that Accused Is a Pastor

GENEVA, 2 March 2005 (LWI) - The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has
welcomed the Mozambican authorities' arrest of a suspect in the murder of
a Brazilian Lutheran missionary a year ago.

Deaconess Doraci J. Edinger, a missionary from the Evangelical Church of
the Lutheran Confession in Brazil (IECLB) to the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in Mozambique (ELCM) was murdered on 21 February 2004 in Nampula,
Mozambique. (See http://www.lutheranworld.org/news/lwi/en/1409.en.html)

In a letter addressed to Mozambique's Minister of Justice, Dr José
Ibraimo Abudo today, LWF General Secretary, Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko expresses
"appreciation for the progress reflected" in the February 25 arrest of the
accused, who is a pastor of the ELCM.

Noko however stresses the LWF's great concern about the duration of the
investigation and progress toward a conclusion. "The LWF trusts that the
prosecution will now proceed expeditiously and with all proper legal
protections for the accused," he writes to the justice minister.

Talking to Lutheran World Information (LWI), Noko reiterated that
Edinger's murder over a year ago was a shock and a cause of grief for many
in the worldwide LWF family. At certain points the LWF had voiced concerns
about apparent delays in the investigation, he explained. "While the
evident progress reflected in the arrest on February 25 is therefore
something to be appreciated, the fact that the person arrested is a pastor
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mozambique is itself the cause of
further grief and distress," he said.

The general secretary pointed out that "the question of guilt or innocence
is now a matter for determination by the courts in Mozambique, and we all
must await the outcome. In the meantime, we pray for the families both of
Sister Doraci and of the pastor arrested in Mozambique in this acutely
difficult and painful time."

The LWF member churches in both Mozambique and Brazil have been and
continue to be in close cooperation with the investigating authorities,
Noko added.

>From 1998 until the time of her death last year, 53-year-old Edinger
worked at the ELCM within an LWF-supported partnership program. She was
reportedly found dead on 23 February 2004 in her apartment in Nampula, 700
km north of the capital Maputo. Police could not clarify the murder at the
time. (391 words)

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF currently has 138
member churches in 77 countries all over the world, with a membership of
nearly 66 million Christians. The LWF acts on behalf of its member
churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical and inter-faith
relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human rights, communication,
and the various aspects of mission and development work. Its secretariat
is located in Geneva, Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the LWF's information service. Unless
specifically noted, material presented does not represent positions or
opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an
article contains the notation (LWI), the material may be freely reproduced
with acknowledgment.]

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