wfn.org | El Salvador: LWF President calls for bridges of understanding,

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

El Salvador: LWF President calls for bridges of understanding
and work toward peace and justice in the world
"Violence and terrorism do not have the last word"

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador/GENEVA, 13 September 2004 (LWI)  - The
President of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Rev. Mark S. Hanson,
presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA),
has called on Christians and leaders from different faiths to build
bridges of understanding between peoples, and to work together for peace
and justice in the world.

"We should be united to give a message of reconciliation, healing and
hope and to construct a society where there is peace and justice," the
Lutheran leader affirmed in an inter-faith gathering for peace and
non-violence held in San Salvador, 11 September, in the Episcopal San
Juan Evangelista Church.

The event, convened by the National Council of Churches of El Salvador
and the Communion of Lutheran Churches in Central America was attended
by representatives from Jewish, Islamic and Baha'i communities, as well
as from Lutheran, Episcopal, Calvinist Reform Churches and the Emmanuel
Baptist Church. The mayor of San Salvador, Carlos Rivas Zamora, also
attended as well as the auxiliary bishop of the diocese of San Salvador,
Gregorio Rosa Chavez.

Leaders from different religious communities took part, reading texts
from the Koran, the Baha'i writings, the Torah, and the Bible. Their
prayers asked that peace, tolerance and understanding prevail in the
world.

Hanson said that violence and terrorism spark a great deal of fear but
"they do not have the last word." Our response to violence should not be
to hide, he said. "We have the peace of God, the promise that He loves
us and has mercy on us and even in the most difficult moments He is in
our midst bringing life."

He called on Christians and those of other faiths to make their best
contribution to ensure that there is peace and justice in the world. He
made reference to Msgr. Oscar Romero, who was murdered in March 1980 for
what he preached, and his struggle alongside the poor, and said, "He
taught us the power of non-violence" to confront the institutionalized
violence that condemned majority sectors of the population to greater
poverty.

During his homily, the Lutheran leader emphasized the importance of
dialogue and inter-religious cooperation. He lamented that Christians
had frequently used Bible texts to justify the violence and hatred
against Jews, and recalled that the ELCA in 1993 had rejected the
anti-Semitic writing of the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther.

He also apologized to Muslims for all the accusations and offenses
suffered by them after the events of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the
United States of America. All of these acts generate violence and we
must keep hatred from expanding among the different sectors of our
society for religious or other reasons, he said. (473 words)

(Reported by Fernando Oshige, Peru, for LWI.)

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(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 65 million people.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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