PCPCU President Kurt Cardinal Koch reflects on From Conflict to Communion (LWF S. Gallay)

Catholics, Lutherans look to commemoration of Reformation anniversary

Joint Catholic-Lutheran commemorations of the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Reformation must recognize the harm caused by the split in Western Christianity, the polemics that exacerbated differences and the progress made through 50 years of ecumenical dialogue, a new document says.

USA
CWS Praises 38 Countries Who've Halved Hunger
New York, Monday, June 17, 2013
Those countries in which Church World Service (CWS) programs are at work that have reached the UN MDG1 hunger goals include Cambodia, Dominican Republic, Georgia, Honduras, Indonesia, Nicaragua and Vietnam. Of those, Georgia, Nicaragua and Vietnam are among the countries that also have reached the rigorous World Food Summit hunger benchmark. + Details

ECUADOR
Spanish Manual on Sexual and Reproductive Rights now available on the internet
Quito, Friday, June 14, 2013
The training manual, in PDF format, on Sexual and Reproductive Rights is designed for churches and ecumenical organizations, and is a joint publication of the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI) and the United Nations Population Fund. + Details

BOLIVIA
Indigenous peoples recede into the background in Bolivia as government seeks to speed up exploration
La Paz, Monday, June 10, 2013
The government of Evo Morales — Bolivia’s first indigenous president — has had two phases. The first, between 2006 and 2010, provided protection to the country’s 22 national parks and to the territories that are home to the 38 ethnic groups recognized by the Constitution of 2009, as pushed forward by Morales. + Details

CUBA
Women defend public policies in favor of sexual rights
Havana, Monday, June 10, 2013
The Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI) Women and Gender Justice Pastoral Ministry, denounced the political manipulation practiced by fundamentalist religious groups seeking to impede the broadening of public policies dealing with sexual and reproductive rights, by aligning themselves with financial groups exploring Latin America and the Caribbean. + Details

PANAMA
Ecumenical Committee of Panama adheres to Ethical Electoral Covenant
Panama City, Friday, June 7, 2013
The Anglican Bishop of Panama, Julio Murray, and the representative of the Justice and Peace organization, Maribel Jaén, appealed to the political parties to keep the Ethical Electoral Covenant of Santa María de Antigua, for a 2014 political campaign marked by harmony and peacefulness. + Details

CUBA
UN recognizes ecumenical work in the fight against HIV in Cuba
Havana, Wednesday, June 5, 2013
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has recognized the good work being carried out by the Community Life and Health Program of the Council of Churches of Cuba (CIC) with HIV/Aids affected persons, and the developing of educational and preventive activities. + Details

URUGUAY
Uruguay: 25 Years since the birth of Pan African Organizations
Montevideo, Tuesday, June 4, 2013
It is irrefutable that in the struggle against Racism and Racial Discrimination in Uruguay and the region, that there has been a noticeable/positive change after the establishment of the Pan-African Organizations. + Details

COSTA RICA
First woman elected as President of CIEMAL
San José, Monday, June 3, 2013
For the first time in its 44 year history, the Council of Evangelical Methodist Churches of Latin America and the Caribbean (CIEMAL) will be presided over by a woman, Pastor Lizzete Gabriel Montalvo, of the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico. Montalvo was elected at the CIEMAL X Assembly held in Alajuela, Costa Rica, May 13-17. + Details

URUGUAY
Proud to be Reformed: Latin American pastor touts strengths of the Presbyterian/Reformed tradition
Montevideo, Monday, June 3, 2013
The Rev. Dario Barolin, who lives in Uruguay, is executive secretary of the Alliance of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches of Latin America (AIPRAL), a group that includes Presbyterian, Reformed, Waldensian, and Congregational churches as well as the Moravian Church of Nicaragua. + Details