wfn.org | ALC News Service Noticias Dec 12 2003

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

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

ALC HEADLINES:
BRAZIL: Women appeal to Churches in favor of peace
ARGENTINA: Day of Religious Freedom Proposed
PANAMA: Christian Churches to analyze what to do in the face of AIDS
PUERTO RICO: A call so that all children grow in peace
EL SALVADOR: Evangelicals call for consensus before upcoming elections

BRAZIL
Women appeal to Churches in favor of peace

RIO DE JANEIRO, December 1, 2003 (alc). Women from different denominations 
called on Churches to fulfill their prophetic role and denounce 
communication media that encourage and contribute to establishing an 
increasingly violent society.

The request was made at the V National Womens Encounter held November 
14-16 in Rio de Janeiro, that brought together more than 80 participants 
coming from different parts of Brazil to debate Ecumenism and peace.

The Ecumenical Womens Declaration evokes 55 years since the Human Rights 
Declaration, to be celebrated December 10.

In the document, women call on Churches and civil society organizations to 
promote, in their families and communities, concrete actions in favor of a 
culture of peace, solidarity and justice.

It also calls on people to share testimonies of experiences of peace in 
favor of life and human dignity, generating new relations for an ethical, 
just and fraternal society.

The Declaration concludes with an invitation to participate in the 2005 
Ecumenical Fraternity Campaign under the theme Solidarity and Peace and 
the slogan Blessed be those who promote peace.

The V Encounter was promoted by the New Womens Ecumenical Decade, the 
National Council of Christian Churches of Brazil (CONIC) and the Theology 
Faculty from the Methodist University of Sao Paulo (UMESP).

ARGENTINA
Day of Religious Freedom Proposed

BUENOS AIRES, December 1, 2003 (alc). The Argentine Council for Religious 
Freedom (CALIR) called on authorities from the nation to declare November 
25 the Day of Religious Freedom and to ensure that it be included in the 
school calendar and be properly celebrated throughout the nation.

CALIR recalled that on November 25, 1981 The UN Assembly proclaimed the 
Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of 
Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief

The declaration is the most specific and emphatic international document 
about this fundamental right, specifying the different rights for 
individuals and for religious communities.

CALIR, as its name indicates, was created to promote the recognition of 
this essential liberty. The group considers it opportune to promote a 
special day dedicated to reflecting on the implications of this declaration 
and those aspects of religious freedom that need better protection.

We propose, it stated, a day in which institutions, communication media, 
public authorities and in particular educational centers, pay special 
attention to religious freedom, in Latin America and the world. In this 
sense, it considers that Nov. 25, anniversary of the above-mentioned 
declaration, would be the most appropriate.

Moreover, CALIR proposes that the 1981 Declaration be converted into 
Argentine law, to ensure that the right to religious freedom has full legal 
standing in the country. It is a universal text, that has no possible 
objectives, and that would demonstrate Argentinas commitment, it stated.

PANAMA
Christian Churches to analyze what to do in the face of AIDS

PANAMA CITY, December 1, 2003 (alc). Representatives from Evangelical 
Churches and Christian institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean that 
are addressing the issue of AIDS from different perspective will meet in 
Panama from January 27 to February 1 to examine the multiple challenges 
raised by the pandemic.

  The regional event called Church and HIV/AIDS in Latin America and the 
Caribbean: What are we doing? What can we do? is sponsored by the World 
Council of Churches (WCC) and the Latin American Council of Churchs (CLAI) 
Integral Health Program.

The two ecumenical organizations consider it important to create a meeting 
place for Churches and Church institutions to examine the different 
perspectives of work related to AIDS and the serious present and future 
consequences of the pandemic.

It will focus on education, prevention, human rights, support groups and 
accompaniment for people affected by HIV, integral services, shelters, 
among other themes.

WCC and CLAI specified that the aim is to bring together a representative 
number of Churches and Church institutions that have experience and 
trajectory in working with HIV/AIDS, either at a local, national or 
international level, in the difference disciplines involved in addressing 
the pandemic.

Eduardo Campaqa M, coordinator of the CLAI Health Program, indicated that 
the aim of the four days is to: exchange experiences, know and evaluate the 
working strategies that give the best results and propose common strategies 
to address the problem.

The event will also serve to establish a list of institutions and Churches 
that are working at a continental level, create a communication network to 
exchange experiences and to discover and disseminate some experiences 
outside of Latin America and to edit and publicize the recommendations and 
results arising from the event.

PUERTO RICO
A call so that all children grow in peace

SAN JUAN, December 2, 2003 (alc). In the face of the growing social 
violence in the home, school and on the streets, the Caribbean Justice and 
Peace project launched its Non-Violence Toys and Peaceful Fun campaign and 
festival under the slogan Lets let our children grow in peace.

The goal is to encourage people to give their children non-violent toys 
this Christmas that teach children to relate to each other, to cooperate 
and to negotiate non-violent solutions.

This year, the 17th Non-Violent Toy Festival will be held next Sunday, 
sponsored by the Women and New Family Center with the collaboration of 
Amnesty International and the University of Puerto Ricos UNESCO head.

According to the proposal, violent toys, which depict war and militarism, 
as well as violent fun, seek destruction and elimination of the other, 
which can awaken aggression, stimulate violence and, what is worse, present 
war as something normal and stimulating.

The organizers calls on adults to reflect on the values that the toy 
transmits and to be aware of the number of hours children spent watching 
television, playing video-games and using the Internet.

Different studies about human behavior show that a continuous exposure to 
violence limits peoples ability to relate to others and they become 
insensitive to violence, which can lead to aggressive, anti-social behavior 
as well as violent responses to differences and problems in daily life.

The Caribbean Justice and Peace Project, as part of its commitment to a 
culture of peace, has been carrying out the Non Violent Toy and Peaceful 
Fun Campaign since 1986.

EL SALVADOR
Evangelicals call for consensus before upcoming elections

SAN SALVADOR, December 3, 2003 (alc). Churches and Evangelical communities 
called on Salvadorans to resume efforts in favor of a national project that 
would conciliate the interests of different sectors in order to resolve 
major national problems and build a better, more just country, prioritizing 
the most vulnerable sectors.

The call is contained in a document signed by scores of communities, 
missions and the Baptist Emmanuel Church after a meeting held November 
21-22 to reflect on the national situation and the role of Christians and 
the Church in this reality.

 From our faith and Christian perspective, stated the document, we see El 
Salvador affected by different crises that demonstrate the sin that has 
become enthroned in our country, a vicious and pernicious circle that keeps 
us from advancing toward real democracy and toward constructing a more 
human and just nation.

After indicating that poverty, misery and unemployment have grown worse and 
the violence and crime has increased, the document stated that these 
factors humiliate and denigrate the image of God in the majority of the 
population, undermining life in the present and putting the immediate 
future at risk.

 From our Christian faith we believe that there are underlying causes that 
many do not want to recognize or address, added the document.

It is unfortunate that the current government has been marked by excessive 
authoritarianism and the possibilities for consensus have been closed. This 
was compounded by the inability of the three State powers to work in a 
coordinated fashion and the ruling corruption, it said.

The current President Francisco Flores administration has placed our 
national sovereignty at the disposition of the US government, ingratiating 
himself with US foreign policy, overlooking our national identity and 
turning his back on regional, Meso-American and Latin American interests, 
continued the document.

The Evangelicals called on people to return to God and affirmed that 
seeking a better, more humane, just country is a legitimate and very human 
demand. For Evangelical Christians to yearn for a better homeland is a 
faith imperative, it added.

As the country becomes mired in the campaign for upcoming March elections, 
the document calls on political parties and candidates to not play with 
peoples needs or to manipulate their legitimate rights to safety, social 
justice and peace in a demagogic fashion.

The document also exhorts Evangelical believers to remain united and to 
organize to defend their legitimate right to life with dignity. It calls on 
all Christian sectors and Churches to not remain silent and indifferent in 
the face of the crisis and sin so that our testimony contributes to 
establishing a society where solidarity, equity, justice and peace prevail.

------------------------
Agencia Latinoamericana y Caribeqa de Comunicacisn (ALC)
P.O. Box 14-225 Lima 14 Peru
Tel. (51 1) 462 0142  Telefax (51 1) 463 2496
Cell Phone (51 1) 9724 3959 / E-Mail: director@alcnoticias.org
Visit our web site: http://www.alcnoticias.org
To stop emails, please visit http://www.alcpress.org/StopNews.asp?lanCode=1