wfn.org | ALC Noticias 24 April 2005 Ecuador, Nicaragua Chile Brazil

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

ALC NEWS SERVICE
E-mail: director@alcnoticias.org
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CONTENT
EQUADOR: Evangelical Confraternity criticizes FEINE support for Gutierrez
NICARAGUA: Women church leaders in Central American churches establish work
strategy
CHILE: Two Lutheran Churches seek to heal wounds
BRAZIL: God is Brazilian, although the Pope is German
ECUADOR: CLAI Women's Network Ecuador calls for Unity
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EQUADOR
Evangelical Confraternity criticizes FEINE support for Gutierrez

QUITO, Ecuador, April 21, (alc). The Ecuadorian Evangelical Confraternity
(CEE) and the Christian Political Reflection Forum criticized the support
that the Evangelical Indigenous Federation of Ecuador (FEINE) gave the
President Lucio Gutierrez government.

In a statement, the CEE emphasized that the "FEINE and its leaders do not
represent the majority of Evangelical Churches and organizations in
Ecuador."  It indicated that the "actions and political statements made by
FEINE are its exclusive responsibility and therefore the positions assumed
by that organization do not involve Evangelical Churches."

It then stated that "we Churches, organizations, pastors and Evangelical
leaders are indignant that Evangelical indigenous brothers are used for
degrading political purposes."

It added that the political crisis that is wracking the country "whose
effects have generated a profound economic and social instability, is the
responsibility of the Gutierrez government and the elite that govern us."

"We lobby Col. Gutierrez, the National Congress and the Judicial Branch to
hear the voice of the people, which is sovereign," said the statement from
the Confraternity.

We call the Ecuadorian people and the Churches to reflect, to pray and to
take action in favour of peace," concluded the statement, signed by Pastor
Estuardo Lopez, president of the Ecuadorian Evangelical Confraternity and
Jose Egas, coordinator of the Political Reflection Forum.

The crisis in Ecuador, which has been going on for more than a week and
which has resulted in tumultuous street manifestations in favour and
against Guterriez, some demanding his resignation, really began last
December 8 when parliament, at the initiative of the president removed 27
of 31 Supreme Court Magistrates.

The re-structuring of the Supreme Court was considered unconstitutional by
the opposition. The situation was further aggravated when the new Supreme
Judges annulled several processes for corruption involving former President
Abdala Bucaram and Gustavo Noboa and former vice president Alberto
Dahik.	President Gutierrez once again removed the Supreme Court last
Friday but the 100-member, highly fragmented Congress has not yet decided
on new Supreme court magistrates.

The situation has polarized the population, as is clearly demonstrated by
the recent tensions between the Evangelical Confraternity and the FEINE.

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NICARAGUA
Women church leaders in Central American churches establish work strategy

By Eduardo Chinchilla.

MANAGUA, April 21 (alc). The struggle against violence towards women, steps
to discover a healthy sexuality, and a declared offensive against the
spread of HIV/AIDS are the principle challenges defined by 45 women who are
leaders in their churches during a meeting organized by the Council of
Latin American Churches (CLAI).

The group, representing more than 40 CLAI member-churches in Mexico and
Central America, reflected on the situation of violence towards women,
noting the on-going murders of women that occur in Mexico, Nicaragua and
Costa Rica. Violence within the church was also the object of analysis,
particularly the need to establish new forms of understanding and
distribution of power in church structures.

The meeting also served to promote the "Decade to Overcome Violence"
convened by the World Council of Churches. Rev. Hansulrich Gerber, global
director of the Decade, said her life had been touched by the way the women
spoke of violence in the region, as well as the commitment to work as women
who are active in the churches in favour of peace and equity.

Another great achievement was the establishment of a working group for the
region, with a coordinator in each country (Mexico to Panama), seven in
all, with a regional coordinator

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CHILE
Two Lutheran Churches seek to heal wounds

By Héctor Carrillo

LLANQUIHUE, April 21 (alc). At a joint convention, held April 16-17 in this
city in southern Chile, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chile (IELCH)
and the Lutheran Church of Chile (ILCH) came together to talk about unity
after 30 years of separation.

It was the second such joint convention, sponsored by the Chilean Lutheran
Council of Churches (CILCH) and was attended by 100 people who sought to
heal the wounds that lead to the schism between the two Churches in 1974.

The division in the Evangelical Lutheran Church was the result of
Gen.Augusto Pinochet's military coup, which took place in 1973.

At the time, Bishop Helmuth Frenz, together with Catholic Cardinal Raúl
Silva Henríquez founded the Pro Peace Committee to provide aid to foreign
refugees in the country. Bishop Frenz and other pastors participated in
this solidarity crusade that later extended to include political prisoners
and their relatives.

One sector of the Church, mainly the German communities, was not in
agreement with the path chosen by the Church.

A synod was held October 31 to November 3, 1974 in the city of Frutillar in
southern Chile. The meeting was marked by harsh controversy and no
agreements were reached. A group of delegates from communities of a German
tradition abandoned the synod. They called for the removal of Bishop Frenz
and the foreign pastors.

The members who supported Frenz and the pastors' work remained in the
meeting, leading to a schism. Dissident communities met June 19, 1975 in La
Union and constituted the Lutheran Church of Chile. (ILCH). In the joint
convention last week, theologian and former president of the
Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession of Brazil, Huberto Kircheim
spoke about the "mission of the Lutherans in Latin American and overcoming
differences within the Churches."

Kircheim manifested that "we have the same faith, the same Father and we
share our joys and pains with our brothers. There are elements that draw us
together as a Church. Each Church has its dynamic and both must be respected."

In the meeting some guidelines were elaborated to continue working on a
document called "commitment of initiatives." Participants agreed to share
mission initiatives and initiatives regarding the foundation of new
communities and they also agreed to create a joint web page.

They also decided to hold a new Joint Convention next year. All the
delegates from both Churches shared in a spirit of fraternity and
understanding.

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BRAZIL
God is Brazilian, although the Pope is German

By Edelberto Behs
edelbehs@alcnoticias.org

SAO LEOPOLDO, Abr 22 (alc). Over the past three weeks, all mass
communication media around the world concentrated on Rome, to cover the
funeral of Pope John Paul II and then the election of the new Pope.

How can we evaluate the coverage of the Brazilian press?, a student from
the Journalism School in the University of Vale do Rio dos Sinos (UNISINOS)
asked me.

Brazilian media was no exception. Similar to other countries, it was
present at the funeral and in the election of the new Pope. Material
disseminated by Globo Online demonstrates that magnitude of the coverage
around the world.

In the 72 hours following the announcement of the death of the Pope a total
of 75,000 reports were written, according to a study from Global Language
Monitor, an association of linguists that identifies trends in the use of
language and its influence on culture.

The name of the Pope was cited 5.6 million times in this period. The figure
is three times any mention of terrorist attacks against the United States
on September 11 and nearly 10 times any references to the re-election of
President George Bush in the same time period.

Throughout 2004, 28,000 reports were written about the Pope and he was
quoted 1.5 million times, testimony to Pope John Paul II's media charisma.

In the case of the Brazilian press, the intense coverage seemed as though
the media wanted to apologize for not paying due attention to the religious
phenomena in the course of daily events.

Brazil is an interesting case. The Brazilian people are highly religious.
According to a recent census only slightly more than 7% of the total
population, an estimated 182 million people, said they were atheists or
have no religious beliefs.

However, despite the major contingent of believers, no Brazilian daily has
a religious editor. Yet, you can find the stock indices from Sao Paulo, New
York, Tokyo of Frankfurt, despite the fact that those who invest in the
stock markets do not reach 0.01% of the Brazilian population. And those who
do, likely turn to specialized publications.

Brazilians from all religious backgrounds hoped for a Brazilian Pope. Even
President Lucio Inacio Lula da Silva and Vice president Jose Alencar voiced
this hope. The press sowed in the hearts of Brazilians the hope that a
Cardinal from the land of Pindorama would be the next Pope.

The dailies disseminated for example, the origins, likes and trajectory of
one of the potential candidates: Claudio Hummes, from Montenegro, a city
some 70 kms from Porto Alegre. The people, when interviewed by television
reporters, seemed to be talking about a football game, demonstrating the
desire for a Brazilian Pope.

Once the name of the new Pope was announced, it was clear that this spirit
forms part of the human condition, even in these times of globalization.
For example, in Germany the daily Die Welt ran its front page "A German
elected Pope" and the Bild was not far behind with "We are Pope."

If someone believes that the nationality of Joseph Ratzinger is irrelevant
or that he is an individual from a world Church, after the election they
will have to revise their concept. For the German press and politicians it
is important that Benedict XVI is German, writes commentator Christian
Semler "Die Tageszeitung", of Berlin.

Unfortunately, this rivalry does not respect personal dignity and refers to
conflicts of the past. For example, without demonstrating a great deal of
respect for the Pope, the sensationalist Daily Mirror of London ran a
headline: "Ratzinger, God's Rottweiler."

Similar was its competitor the Sun with: "From Hitler Youth to Papa-Ratzi."
It is known that Ratzinger joined the Nazi Youth because he was forced to
at school.

The headlines provoked a reaction in German. Anja Strauss in Bild wrote
"the English insult the German Pope." Franz-Joseph Wagner reacted
pathetically in the Post. "Who in these sensationalist English papers would
think that Hitler made the Pope (.) the headlines smell of sulfur, of
rotten eggs. This could only occur to the devil. Or, unhappily, to English
with a complex."

In other latitudes where exacerbated nationalism led to the disaster of the
Holocaust, the arrogance of belonging to a nation also runs through the
veins of some media. I can only imagine what we Brazilians would think of
the Cardinals had opted for an Argentine pope. Rivalry, clearly that is
born on the football field.

And to conclude, in Pindorama we continue to be sure that God is Brazilian,
even if the Pope is German.

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ECUADOR
CLAI Women's Network Ecuador calls for Unity

QUITO, abr 22 (alc). In the face of recent events in Ecuador, that led to
the overthrow of President Lucio Gutierrez and his substitution by Vice
President Alfredo Palacio, the Women's Network of member Churches of the
Latin American Council of Churches in Ecuador called for unity.

"It is time to unite, more than ever it is time to allow ourselves to be
illuminated by the liberating word of the Gospel," said the call.

It is "time to talk, to reflect, to contribute with ideas and actions to
construct a better Ecuador," stated the organization that groups together
women's organizations from CLAI member Churches in the country.

The document recalls that the CLAI-Ecuador Women's Network is a "space of
dialogue, encounter and Biblical reflection among people from diverse faith
confessions who feel challenged by the Gospel and the struggle in favor of
justice."

It added that it joined the popular resistance that was organized in
particular in Quito to demand and energetically and bravely reject the way
that Ecuador has been submitted to misery and impoverishment and to condemn
the "repressive and anti-popular policies" of the governments.

God gives us the hope of a new world where everyone has a dignified space
as human beings. We dream of a new country, free, sovereign and democratic,
that struggles and defends its rights "on our knees before God but also on
our feet together with a people that suffers injustice, oppression," added
the declaration.

It affirms that it cannot silence the participation of the Evangelical
indigenous movement in favour of the interests of corrupt governments such
as the Gutierrez government, but we believe in the dignity that in other
occasions that indigenous movement has demonstrated and we hope that its
leaders recall their glorious indigenous heroes.
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