Bishop Aldo Manuel Etchegoyen of the Evangelical Methodist Church of Argentina was part of a panel discussion on global economic issues during the WCC Central Committee’s meeting Tuesday (30 January) in Potsdam, Germany.

In a press conference following the meeting, Etchegoyen refused to respond to questions as to whether poor countries should default on their burdensome foreign debt.

But he stressed that the debt is "immoral and unjust" and causes untold poverty and misery. And for the most part, he said, it has fallen to the church to call attention to the problem.

"No political party in America or Europe has spoken out as clearly as the World Council of Churches," Etchegoyen told journalists. "The most clear voices against the tremendous injustice have been from churches. The clearest documents do not come from the politicians."

Rogate Mshana, a WCC staff member responsible for speaking out on economic rights issues, added that the Council is engaged in a number of studies, conferences and dialogues on globalisation and other economic issues. The WCC staff has been in dialogue with staff of the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organisation, Mshana said.

Another Central Committee panelist, Mrs. Ngoyi Mukuna Misenga of the Church of Christ in Congo, told the 158-member body that economic globalisation "is against the will of God and human dignity."

Others who addressed the Central Committee on the topic included Dr. Agnes Abuom, Anglican Church of Kenya, one of the eight presidents of the WCC; Claudia Greifenhahn who manages a fair trade association of shops and restaurants in Dresden, Germany; and Rev. Septemmy E. Lakawa, Protestant Church in South-East Sulawesi, Indonesia.

All three women urged the churches to join together to oppose globalisation and to express solidarity with the poor and marginalised.

In the press conference following the morning session, Mrs. Mukuna suggested church people in debtor nations should become more involved in local political affairs. "The population has to be properly informed by the churches" about the effects of foreign debt on their daily lives, she suggested to journalists. "It’s evangelism. In our context we have tried to transform the Gospel" to encourage people to "be genuinely involved in handling local matters."

Archbishop Anastasios, Orthodox Autoceplalous Church of Albania, suggested to Central Committee members that some lifestyle changes may be necessary before churches criticise others. He called upon church members to lead "a life of simplicity and poverty" so they could speak with moral authority on global economic problems.

"Many of us have this temptation to speak for the poor and live like the rich," Anastasios noted.

Photos from the Central Committee