es http://www.alcnoticias.net/ Information and analysis about the social-ecclesial reality, development and human rights in Latin America and other regions of the world englisheditor@alcnoticias.net http://www.alcnoticias.net/interior.php?codigo_lang=21258_688 Voices of opposition to the concept of "green capitalism" as a means of salvation for the environment echoed loudly in every discussion and street protest during the Thematic Social Forum that drew thousands of activists to Porto Alegre, capital of the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. 2012-02-02 http://www.alcnoticias.net/interior.php?codigo_lang=21251_688 The Argentinean Methodist Church has sent a letter to the Methodist Church of Great Britain concerning the dispute over the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands, in response to the statements by the British Prime Minister on the sovereignty over the islands, following the declaration of support by the South American countries members of MERCOSUR (Common Market of the South) for Argentina’s claims. 2012-02-01 http://www.alcnoticias.net/interior.php?codigo_lang=21252_688 Some three hundred people gathered in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Guatemala City to participate in the Ecumenical Prayer for Christian unity celebrated in the country for the eleventh consecutive year, led by bishops, priests and pastors of the Catholic, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Mennonite and Evangelical Churches. 2012-02-01 http://www.alcnoticias.net/interior.php?codigo_lang=21253_688 “We are pleased that finally the Government has returned our land to us, land that has always been ours. After over 10 years we have finally managed to recover part of our ancestral territory,” says Celso Benítez, leader of Kelyenmagategma community. 2012-02-01 http://www.alcnoticias.net/interior.php?codigo_lang=21239_688 From January 27-28, a commission of the National Reference Group of the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Colombia visited the Caribbean region of Montes de María y San Onofre, where a pilot project of the program is planned to begin. 2012-01-30 http://www.alcnoticias.net/interior.php?codigo_lang=21240_688 Church World Service staff and representatives of Haitian civil society organizations met with members of Congress and representatives of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department in Washington last week to address persistent problems in Haiti two years after the country’s devastating earthquake. 2012-01-30 http://www.alcnoticias.net/interior.php?codigo_lang=21220_688 Meeting with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on January 27, Pope Benedict said that integral to helping the Gospel message seem more credible in today's world is Christian unity -- a theme that members of the congregation discussed during their four-day plenary meeting. The pope said the search for Christian unity requires a solid foundation in truth and Scripture, not the establishment of rules and agreements that are mutually beneficial. 2012-01-27 http://www.alcnoticias.net/interior.php?codigo_lang=21230_688 At the closing service on January 25 of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in Cuba, held in the Catholic Church on Reina de Havana Street in the capital city, Methodist pastor and one of the vice-presidents of the Cuban Council of Churches (CIC), Humberto Fuentes, called on the members of all denominations to work toward unity, not only during a specific period but “in all times and places so as to dignify Christ’s sacrifice and the presence of God in Cuba.” 2012-01-29 http://www.alcnoticias.net/interior.php?codigo_lang=21210_688 Professor Jung Mo Sung, of the Methodist University of São Paulo, holds in high esteem the function of utopia of offering theoretical proofs for new world concepts as a necessary condition for the construction of a project for a perfect world, yet affirms the necessity of recognizing that human beings have limitations and that no social system will achieve perfection. 2012-01-26 http://www.alcnoticias.net/interior.php?codigo_lang=21211_688 The investigations into the murders of 10 thousand women in these countries, was begun on January 21 by the Guatemalan Nobel Peace Prize, Rigoberta Menchú, and Jody Williams of the United States, according to information given in Tegucigalpa, Honduras by Nerlin Eguiguren, a journalist and leader of the Women for Peace movement. 2012-01-26 http://www.alcnoticias.net/interior.php?codigo_lang=21202_688 As Egyptians gather today, January 25, in Cairo’s Tahrir Square to mark the first anniversary of the revolution that toppled the government of Hosni Mubarak, the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is holding up the example of a Christian congregation that transformed its church into a field hospital to treat wounded Muslim and Christian protestors. 2012-01-25 http://www.alcnoticias.net/interior.php?codigo_lang=21197_688 The Salvadoran Lutheran Church has welcomed government celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the peace agreement that ended the country’s civil war but called for a new agreement that will return the country to peace and justice. 2012-01-24 http://www.alcnoticias.net/interior.php?codigo_lang=21182_688 Headed by its President, Magistrate Roberto Rosario Márquez, the Central Electoral Board (JCE) of the Dominican Republic approved Monday, January 16, the regulation for the application of Law 198-11 of August 3, 2011, having to do with non-Catholic religious marriages performed in Christian churches in the country. 2012-01-22 http://www.alcnoticias.net/interior.php?codigo_lang=21181_688 The indigenous people of southeast Mexico are demanding to be included in the official programmes planned for 2012 to take advantage of the world's interest in the "Mayan prophecy", while at the same time fearing a "doomsday tourism" that could damage and contaminate their sacred sites. 2012-01-21 http://www.alcnoticias.net/interior.php?codigo_lang=21177_688 In light of impacts of the global economic and financial crises, the delegations of the Church and Society Commission of the Conference of European Churches (CSC/CEC) and the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI) are meeting in Havana, from 16 – 23 January 2012. The meeting took place in the frame of a dialogue programme between two regional ecumenical bodies, which started in 2009. 2012-01-20 http://www.alcnoticias.net/interior.php?codigo_lang=21175_688 Rio de Janeiro experienced what was considered to be the country's worst disaster last year, when 1,300 people were killed in devastating floods, according to official numbers, and many more according to organisations working in the field. 2012-01-20 http://www.alcnoticias.net/interior.php?codigo_lang=21166_688 The Reverend Torres, one of the builders of ecumenism in Nicaragua and promoter of a culture of peace, died unexpectedly on January 15, at the age of 67. 2012-01-19 http://www.alcnoticias.net/interior.php?codigo_lang=21159_688 The work of three groups supported by WACC and working in El Salvador to restore public memory and awareness about events that took place during the country's civil war has resulted in a public apology widely covered by national and international media. 2012-01-18 http://www.alcnoticias.net/interior.php?codigo_lang=21136_688 The second anniversary of Haiti’s tragic earthquake is first a time to honor those who died and extend compassion to their loved ones, not simply to turn critical eyes to what hasn’t been done, says the head of humanitarian agency Church World Service. “It is easy to look at the monumental amount of work that has yet to be done and point fingers at failures, even after two arduous years of relief and recovery efforts,” says the agency’s Executive Director and CEO the Rev. John L. McCullough. “But right now is the time to pay tribute to those who were lost and to the indomitable Haitian spirit of those who are carrying on. 2012-01-13 http://www.alcnoticias.net/interior.php?codigo_lang=21149_688 Brazil, for decades a source of migrants to the United States and Europe, is now facing its own humanitarian challenge: applying the international solidarity it trumpets to the Haitians who are arriving in the thousands, in search of a better life. 2012-01-17 http://www.alcnoticias.net/interior.php?codigo_lang=21152_688 For the elections of its directors who will lead during a new period, the Council of Churches of Cuba (CIC), through its Area of Formation and Study, is travelling throughout the country in order to know its strengths and weaknesses that will allow for a more coherent projection of the Council’s ecumenical work at the national level. 2012-01-17 http://www.alcnoticias.net/interior.php?codigo_lang=21137_688 As a new year begins the Nicaraguan Catholic Church hopes to achieve a direct contact with President Daniel Ortega and also that the new government design and apply public policies aimed at uprooting the problems of unemployment, citizens insecurity, and more access to health and education, said Bishop Jorge Solórzano of the Diocese of Granada this week, even though as an institution the Catholic Church did not attend the swearing in ceremony of Ortega for a new term of office as president of the country. 2012-01-15 http://www.alcnoticias.net/interior.php?codigo_lang=21129_688 On Monday, January 16, El Salvador will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Peace Agreements that put an end to the Civil War that lasted from 1980-1992. The Salvadorian Lutheran Church has expressed its joy on the occasion of the anniversary, but has called on the citizens to bring about of a new national agreement. 2012-01-12 http://www.alcnoticias.net/interior.php?codigo_lang=21117_688 The Presbyterian cathedral in Rio de Janeiro will celebrate its 150th anniversary on Thursday, January 12, when in a festive worship service the local congregation will commemorate the historical occasion with the presentation of medals and commemorative stamps, followed by a “Gospel Cocktail.” 2012-01-11 http://www.alcnoticias.net/interior.php?codigo_lang=21116_688 While immigration, organized crime and protests against huge development projects grab headlines around Latin America as 2012 begins, little progress will be made unless underlying poverty and inequality are addressed, said Peruvian Archbishop Pedro Barreto Jimeno, who heads the social justice commission of Latin American bishops' council, or CELAM. 2012-01-11