wfn.org | ALC Noticias Nov 6 2005 Brazil Chile Venezuela Cuba Nicaragua

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

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

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CONTENT

BRAZIL: Anti-Bush front is forged in Latin America
CHILE: Catholics and Evangelical sectors at loggerheads over canonization
of Father Hurtado
NICARAGUA: Christian Churches should encourage reflection about the crisis
in the country
CUBA: I do not believe in super-pastors" said Cuban Presbyterian leader
during a celebration of his 40 years as pastor
VENEZUELA: Evangelical leaders call on President Chavez to listen to New Tribes

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BRAZIL
Anti-Bush front is forged in Latin America

By Micael Vier B.

Porto Alegre, Nov 4 (ALC).  In Latin America a common anti-Bush front is
being forged as a result of US foreign policy, said Silvio Schneider, the
executive secretary of the Lutheran Church Diaconal Foundation, in
reference to social protests against Bush's presence in Argentina during
the Americas Summit in Mar del Plata.

"Based on this affirmation, it is possible to say that there is no
awareness of America as a unit, but as something fragmented by attempts to
dominate each other," warned Schneider. The IV Summit represents a protocol
event rather than something that could lead to changes for the continent,
he said.

The Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA), whose negotiations have
been paralyzed since September, is not aimed at the needs of the people.
"Rather, the FTAA is seen from a business angle rather than from the
perspective of workers and the marginalized," he said.

The Lutheran Pastor underscored the work of the Churches on the Latin
American continent, that seek to create grassroots solidarity economy
alternatives, based on a system of exchange and not on the exploitation of
the producers.

Bishop Sebastião Armando Gameleira Soares, of the Anglican Episcopal Church
of Brazil (IEAB) in Pelotas said that until international trade is not
governed by fair and equal relationships, the FTAA "will be one more
instrument to dominate our countries."

The Anglican Bishop told ALC that globalization, sponsored by the United
States and First World countries is a myth because it permits the free
circulation of products from rich countries to developing nations but there
is no true reciprocity. "It is a fallacy, a new phase of the same
imperialism," he said.

He said that the world is going through a delicate moment in international
relations mainly due to the economic, political and military strengthen of
the "American empire."

According to the vice president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of
Brazil (IELB), Pastor Paulo Jung, the IV Americas Summit has sparked great
expectations as "it will meet with the needs of current society," although
he criticized the idea that the United States and President Bush represent
the world's defenders of democracy.

The first Americas Summit, impelled by then US President Bill Clinton was
held in Miami in 1994. The other two took place in Chile in 1998 and in
Canada in 2001. A total of 34 heads of State and governments from the
Organization of American States are participating in the Mar del Plata. All
American nations are represented in Argentina, with the exception of Cuba
that was suspended by the organization in 1962.

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CHILE
Catholics and Evangelical sectors at loggerheads over canonization of
Father Hurtado

Temuco, Nov. 3 (ALC). Evangelical leaders from the Ninth Region said the
government placed too much value on the canonization of the Rev. Alberto
Hurtado, placing him in a "position of idolatry" that is not in line with
Biblical doctrine and accused it of "discriminating" against other creeds.

Andrés Millanao, President of the Council of Pastors of Evangelical
Churches of Temuco told the El Gong digital edition that the government's
attitude constitutes irrefutable proof of discrimination in every sense.
"This also implies that there are no human rights for Evangelicals in this
country," he said.

His comments motivated an immediate reaction from the Catholic Bishop of
Temuco, Msgr. Manuel Camilo Vial, who declared that Evangelicals are a
minority group while 90 percent of the country expressed joy about the
canonization of the Rev. Hurtado.

"It angers me that minority sectors are opposed. I find this primitive," he
said. The polemic between Catholics and Evangelicals dates back several
months when the government authorized the establishment of monuments and
images of then beatified Father Hurtado throughout the country.

The Court of Appeals in Concepción rejected last August an appeal presented
by the three Evangelical organizations that called for the removal of two
statues of the Rev. Hurtado, arguing that the measure was "discriminatory"
against other religious creeds.

Some Evangelical organizations in the region have made harsh statements
about the recent canonization of the Rev. Hurtado and state that their
position is shared by all sectors. According to Bishop Vial, however, they
are only minority groups.

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NICARAGUA
Christian Churches should encourage reflection about the crisis in the country

By Trinidad Vásquez

Managua, Nov. 2 (ALC). The Churches should promote a meeting to reflect on
the serious situation in Nicaragua, said the dean of the Evangelical
Nicaraguan University (UENIC) Benjamín Cortes, during the inauguration of
the IV Jurgen Moltman 2005 Humanities Course.

Churches such as the Baptist, Catholic, Pentecostal and Moravian Churches,
which bring together the majority of the population, should create a space
for analysis and to search for answers regarding the economic, political
and social crisis wracking the country. "They could contribute a great deal
to the national dialogue," he affirmed.

The Rev. Cortes said that this event does not exclude the convocations on
the part of the Sandinista and Liberal parties and the government itself
that seek national reconciliation and harmony prior to presidential
elections next year.

The Archbishop of Managua, Msgr. Leopoldo Brenes has said he supports a
broad-based national dialogue. "There is a need for a sincere dialogue"
affirmed the Catholic Church leader when he closed the year of the
Eucharist in the La Salle School last October 23.

The IV Humanities Course took place October 24 - 29 in this city in order
to encourage a culture of knowledge for the full life of all Nicaraguans.

Participants held a minute of silence in honor of US Black leader Rosa
Parks who died October 24 at age 92. Parks detonated the civil rights
movement in the United States when she refused to give up her seat to a
white man in 1955.

We want to motivate pastors to dialogue, peace and the development of human
sciences and open debate about the impact of the constant rise in oil
prices and the impact of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States,
said Cortes.

According to the government, the FTA will contribute to economic
development, generating employment while union sectors maintain that small
and middle sized producers and industrial companies will go bankrupt
because they will be unable to compete with major firms and employment will
only grow in the so-called "tax free zones."

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CUBA
I do not believe in super-pastors" said Cuban Presbyterian leader during a
celebration of his 40 years as pastor

By José Aurelio Paz

Havana, Nov 2 (ALC). "I do not believe in super-pastors, but in the
effectiveness of shared work between the pastor and the community, where
each has the space to develop their God-given gifts," said the Rev. Hector
Mendez during a celebration October 30 for his 40 years in the ministry.

During the worship service held in the First Presbyterian and Reformed
Church of Havana, the 65-year-old leader spoke about the meaning of these
40 years dedicated to God and the community, the search for an indigenous
Church and about powerful testimonial and service vocation.

"I have lived them in fear of God. In constant learning about the teachings
of Jesus Christ in the face of any challenges, seeking to solve problems
and conflicts from a perspective of reconciliation," said Mendez who has
been the moderator of the Presbyterian-Reformed Church of Cuba since 2004.

He has also held key roles in the ecumenical world. He was one of the
leaders of the Latin American Union of Ecumenical Youth (ULAJE), a founder
in Cuba of the Christian Youth Association (ACJ), a board member of the
Latin American Council of Churches and a member of the World Council of
Churches (WCC) Central Committee.

Since 1991, he has been pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Havana,
an enclave in the center of the city in one of the poorest neighborhoods.
For the past 10 years, together with his congregation, he has developed a
project called Telephone Friend, which provides accompaniment and pastoral
and psychological counselling. The church also sponsors a baseball team
made up of community workers as well as a children's team and a community
library.

In the worship service, Mendez, accompanied by his wife Oneida Padilla,
received two plaques in recognition of his pastoral work. Other guests
include Pastor Rhode Gonzalez Zorrilla, president of the Cuban Council of
Churches and the Rev. Carlos Camp, secretary general of the Presbyterian Synod.

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VENEZUELA
Evangelical leaders call on President Chavez to listen to New Tribes

Caracas,  Oct. 31 (ALC). More than two weeks after President Hugo Chavez
announced he was throwing the US New Tribes Mission out of the country, the
Evangelical Council and the Pentecostal Evangelical Confederation of
Venezuela called on him to meet with them before implementing the measure.
They also stated that there is a need for a prior investigation that has
not yet been carried out.

The leaders from both groups voiced their willingness to form a delegation
with New Tribes and go to the Miraflores Palace to meet personally with the
president "so that we are heard by you," they said in a letter sent to
President Chavez Friday.

They also requested that the mission not be expelled until an exhaustive
investigation is carried out by the Venezuelan State. They warned, however,
that if any irregularities were confirmed "we would be in agreement with
the government's measure."

The Evangelical groups said that Chavez' arguments, who accused the US
missionaries of working for the CIA do not correspond to the work of New
Tribes which they consider above reproach and favourable for indigenous
communities in the country.

The New Tribes Evangelical Mission, they said, is a member of the
Evangelical Council of Venezuela and is duly recognized by the Justice and
Worship Board of the Ministry of Justice since January 1984.

The document indicates that of the 153 New Tribes Missionaries only 20 are
in the state of Amazonas while the rest are working in Apure, Bolivar,
Delta Amacuro and Monagas.

They affirmed that the main purpose of these missionaries is to teach the
Sacred Scriptures to indigenous people who are culturally or linguistically
marginalized and isolated from this teaching in their own language,
together with other objectives like literacy, bilingual education (in their
own language and in Spanish), civil, moral and social development and basic
assistance regarding health.

New Tribes has placed special emphasis on integrating indigenous people
into the national life of the country, without having them lose their
ethnic and cultural identity, they said. "The mere fact of teaching
indigenous to reach and write in their own language, after creating an
alphabet and a phonetic system is indicative of their interest in
preserving their history and their identity," said the letter.
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