The president of the National Council of Christian Churches (CONIC) of Brazil, Glauco Soares de Lima, lamented declarations made by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who accused the World Council of Churches (WCC) of financing subversive movements in Latin America.
Soares de Lima, who is also the primate of the Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil, told ALC that the WCC is always opposed to dictatorships and takes the side of the people. We do not accept, however, that the WCC financed guerrillas. The organization gave humanitarian, but not ideological support.
He lamented comments made by Cardinal Ratzinger, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, stating that they contribute nothing to the ecumenical cause. He is confusing support given to grassroots movements in the struggle against dictatorships and oligarchies, with support given to guerrilla forces, added the CONIC president.
Last Monday Ratzinger declared that the WCC had funded Latin American subversive movements between the 1960s and 1980s and that this support, even if given in good faith, caused the Gospel serious harm.
Now it is said that the WCC supported the struggle against Latin American dictatorships of that time. If we are talking about moral support, this effectively took place. However, if we talk about financial support, this is not true. Churches which contributed to maintaining the WCC would not have agreed with this funding, said Bishop Glauco Soares de Lima.
Article By : Edelberto Behs