Cuba to Host Latin American Council of Churches Meeting

HAVANA TIMES — The Latin American Council of Churches (ClaI) will meet in Cuba next week, after finding alternative funding to that seized by the US government, said Nilton Giese, general secretary of the group on Thursday.

Nilton Giese said the $100,000 wire transfer by the CLAI last October remain blocked in the United States by the Department of the Treasury, noted DPA news.

For three months, the meeting was postponed for lack of funding, but the situation was resolved with the support of the Council of Churches of Europe, which provided funds for its realization.

The economic cost would be aimed at the organizational expenses, accommodation and meals for the 300 pastors and religious leaders from 20 countries expected to attend the meeting, which seeks to establish the objectives of these churches during the next six years.

Delegates to the event will meet in Havana from May 20-26 under the theme “Affirming an ecumenism of concrete actions,” the organizers said in a press conference.

The CLAI was founded in 1982 and has its headquarters in the Ecuadorian city of Quito. It currently brings together 188 Protestant churches and denominations from 20 countries, has no authority in matters of doctrine, and its main function is for consultation and coordination of pastoral work.

The organization is represented on the island of Cuban Council of Churches, led by Pastor Joel Ortega, which brings together 26 Protestant associations and 12 ecumenical movements.