Back to home

Friday October 26, 2007

Oscar Bolioli, presidente de la Iglesia Metodista de Uruguay [Foto: José Aurelio Paz]
Oscar Bolioli, presidente de la Iglesia Metodista de Uruguay [Foto: José Aurelio Paz]

Methodist delegates meet with Uruguay’s Central Worker’s Union

ALC/CLAI, MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, May 3, 2007

A delegation from the Methodist Church of Uruguay (IMU in Spanish), headed by Pastor Oscar Taxi Heathrow Airport Bolioli, was received on April 27 by the General Secretary of the PIT-CNT, Uruguay’s Central Worker’s Union.

According to what has been informed by the Communications Department of the IMU, the meeting had been requested by the church in compliance with the mandate of its last General Assembly, that the church be in relations with those organizations that are concerned with seeking the truth about the whereabouts of those citizens who were detained and then disappeared during the military dictatorship. The statement released by the IMU says that, “For the IMU, that situation is not only a matter of justice but also a deeply human aspect related to the society as a whole, and particularly to the families of those detained and disappeared.”

Oscar Bolioli, President of the IMU, conveyed the Methodist Church’s greetings to the Central Worker’s Union, on the occasion of Worker’s Day (May 1), and presented the public statement by the IMU having to do with those detained and disappeared, and also its statement on Worker’s Day.

The meeting, which took place in the central offices of the PIT-CNT, “allowed for an enriching dialogue on common interests of both institutions and an agreement to continue with the conversations, including other matters of national interest,” according to the IMU.

In the conversation it was remembered that during the dictatorship the IMU maintained an on-going dialogue with the PIT-CNT. During that remembrance, Juan Castillo, a worker’s union leader, made mention of the protection given to the workers by Methodist congregations, on those occasions when it was necessary to have protection put into effect.

At the gathering, General Secretary Juan Castillo was accompanied by Fernando Pereira, Coordinator of the General Secretariat, and accompanying Pastor Oscar Bolioli in the Methodist delegation were José L. Mochetti, Vice President of the IMU; Adolfo Tome, Coordinator of the Service and Witness Pastoral Ministry; Ademar Olivera, Advisor for Human Rights, and Anibal Sicardi, Director of the Communications Department.