COMLA EMPHASIZES ACTION OF MISSIONARIES
IN SUPPORT OF INDIAN PEOPLES
The participation of Indian representatives was an important
feature of the 5th Latin American Missionary Congress, COMLA, which
was held between the 18th and the 23rd of July in the city of Belo
Horizonte. The Congress brought together 3,500 persons to discuss the
topic ''The Gospel in the Cultures: path of life and hope''. The
COMLAs are held at four-year intervals in different countries with the
aim of disseminating the evangelization initiatives taken by churches
of Latin America and the Caribbean. One of the conclusions that was
reached at the 5th COMLA is that missionaries are to work with Indian
peoples in support of their right to life and to a land to live in. In
addition, evangelization actions are to preserve the values of Indian
peoples, which represent 7./. of the population of the Americas,
considering them as subjects of their own history.
During the meeting, which was attended by missionaries from CIMI,
the Indians handed out a document called ''Evangelization in Indian
Cultures'', which evaluates Catholic evangelization actions among
Indian peoples. They asked the Church to definitively assume the
position of supporting the fight for the demarcation of Indian lands
and said that ''this is what we regard as Good News''.The commitment
was expressed in a petition signed by all the participants in COMLA 5
which will be delivered to president Fernando Henrique Cardoso and to
the minister of Justice, Nelson Jobim, asking them to preserve and
respect Decree 22/91 in its present version. The decree regulates the
administrative procedure to be adopted in the demarcation of Indian
lands.
Regarding the evangelization of Indians, they highlighted the need
to know the mystery of the faith of each people. ''We Indians express
our religion within our own culture. The power of our resistance lies
in our culture''.
CIR INTENSIFIES CAMPAIGN FOR THE
DEMARCATION OF RAPOSA/SERRA DO SOL AREA
As part of the Campaign, the Indian Council of Roraima - CIR -
promoted yesterday the ''First Meeting on the Demarcation of Indian
Lands and the Development of the Municipality of Normandia'', which
was attended by the mayor, aldermen, and organized groups of the
Municipality.
CIR's coordinator, Nelino Gale', regards the meeting as a very
important opportunity to clarify that Indian peoples are not a
hindrance to the economic development of the regions, an argument used
by anti-Indian forces to oppose the demarcation of the Raposa/Serra do
Sol Indian area. On August 10-11, another seminar will discuss the
participation of Indians in the development of the state of Roraima.
The seminar will also discuss two very important points for Indian
communities: self-sustainability projects for the communities and the
need to preserve the culture of the peoples involved. The Raposa/Serra
do Sol area was identified in May of 1993. It comprises 1,670,810
hectares, where two-thousand families and about 10,000 Indians live.
Brasilia, July 27, 1995
Indianist Missionary Council