wfn.org | Without Truth, Reconciliation is not Possible in Chile

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

Gloria Rojas, Chile's First Woman Church President

GENEVA, 21 November 2001 (LWI) -At first sight, nothing betrays
Gloria Rojas' demanding responsibilities. The 48 year-old theologian
has been President of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chile since
May 2000. Although the church only has 3,000 active members, they are
scattered over an area stretching from the capital Santiago down to
the South of this Latin American country.

For the Santiago-based president, spending several days with all her
congregations and the overall twelve pastors is a priority, she told
Lutheran World Information (LWI) during a November 16 visit with the
Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Geneva.

Visiting these congregations takes up a lot of time. In addition to
the regular tasks of a church president-head of the church-she is
also actively involved in a new kind of educational program for
Lutheran leaders in Latin America. Over a period of three years, 17
theologians attend a three-week course each year in Chicago, United
States of America, addressing mission and church leadership. The
other parts of the course, with a strong emphasis on practical
aspects, take place in the participants' home countries.

"The objective is to find new ways of church leadership and pastoral
work for Latin America," says Rojas. This matter is decisive for the
future of a church which was founded in 1852 by German immigrants in
Southern Chile and, which only some 100 years later opened itself
completely to the Spanish language. Today, Spanish is the main
language while only a few congregations remain bilingual. Rojas
herself speaks only little German.

She manages her professional responsibilities together with her
family duties in a five-person household. "I receive great support
from my husband. Otherwise I wouldn't be where I am today," she
underscores. Her husband works as a freelance psychologist and
philosopher. Their children aged 17, 20 and 21 have not finished
their education yet.

Rojas was born in Chile in 1953 and studied theology in Argentina on
an LWF scholarship. In 1985 she was ordained in her church. Her term
as church president extends to 2003, with a possibility for
re-election. She is the first woman church president in Chile, and
one of four women church leaders in Latin America. The other three
women theologians head churches in Nicaragua, Peru and Puerto Rico.

Chile's past, the time after the military coup against President
Salvador Allende in 1973 and the 17 years of military dictatorship
and human rights violations that followed under General Augusto
Pinochet, have left a deep impression on Rojas' church. Part of her
church declared its solidarity with the people tortured, murdered and
abducted by the regime. A larger part left the church, though, to
form the new Lutheran Church in Chile, which has about 12,000 members
today. Rojas says relations between the two Lutheran churches in the
country have improved somewhat. "Now we can talk with each other
about the past."

Her church does not have a problem with the present, democratically
elected government of this predominantly Roman Catholic country with
14 million inhabitants. Since last year, the Protestant churches have
the same legal status as the Roman Catholic church, says Rojas. Her
church cooperates with the government in the social and ethical
arenas, playing an important role in society.

The unresolved question of a lawsuit against Pinochet and his aides
is a heavy burden on the country. How can perpetrators and victims of
the Pinochet era be reconciled and impunity be combated? "Our church
will continue to work for justice," Rojas underlines. Only since
Pinochet's 1998 arrest in London has an open discussion on the
atrocities of the Chilean dictatorship been embarked upon.

For Rojas it is essential to bring the truth about these dark times
out into the open. She is convinced that "the truth must triumph and
the perpetrators must confess their guilt and their mistakes. Without
such a step, reconciliation is not possible in Chile."

(Written for LWI by Ulla Jaenicke in Geneva)

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran
tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now has 133
member churches in 73 countries representing over 60.5 million of the
64.3 million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on behalf of its
member churches in areas of common interest such as ecumenical
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 information service of the
Lutheran World Federation (LWF). 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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