NEWSBREAK

GC President Addresses the Plight of Abused Children

BY RAY DABROWSKI, General Conference communication director

dventists are committed to be a part of the solution in addressing the plight of neglected and abused children, said Jan Paulsen, General Conference president in a September 2 address to members of the Brazilian Congress.

Paulsen, undertaking a 10-day pastoral visit to South America, referenced grim world statistics of child abuse, exploitation, and neglect. "As a Christian community of more than 20 million followers," he said, "the Adventist Church is committed to working with governments, humanitarian organizations, and others, to raise awareness of the problems of child abuse and neglect, and to be a part of the solution."

Addressing a group of 170 Brazilian deputies and senators from the Parliamentary Front for the Defense of Child and Adolescent Rights, the Adventist leader commended the Brazilian nation for its "commitment to defending the rights of children and adolescents, and for the protections that have already been passed."

In 2001, the world church designated the fourth Saturday of every August as "Abuse Prevention Emphasis Day." This campaign, called "Breaking the Silence," has been promoted throughout the church in Brazil. This year the emphasis is on child abuse.

On his first visit to northern Brazil, Paulsen began August 28 in the Amazon region, including the cities of Manaus, Belem, Recife and the regional headquarters of the church in Brasilia. In Manaus, the city known as the place where the Amazon River originates, the world leader reflected on the exemplary growth of the church in South America, particularly in Brazil.

Addressing the employees of the local church headquarters, Paulsen commended the church for being single-minded in the objective of God's mission. "We, as a church, have no other reason of being except to be instruments in God's mission," he said. "The church in South America is setting an example around the world."

Paulsen shared a conviction that where the church is growing, every member of the church makes mission as their life. "When laity embraces mission, the church grows," he emphasized.

On September 1, the North-East Brazilian region of the church formally launched their Sow 1 Billion program at a rally with lay members, pastors, and church leadership. The international church program aims to share 1,000 million invitations to study the Bible with people all around the world during the next 12 months.

In Manaus, Paulsen and South American Division president Ruy Nagel participated in a mass baptism in one of the tributaries of the Amazon, where 12,000 Adventists witnessed the baptism of 700 people.

The church's beginnings in the region date back to the 1930s when Jessie and Leo Halliwell, two medical missionaries from the United States, traversed the Amazon between Manaus and the city of Belem in a launch called Luzeiro I. Today, the city of Manaus has one Adventist for every 19 inhabitants. The Amazon region is one of the fastest growing parts of the world church with nearly half a million members. The baptized Adventist membership in Brazil is 1.2 million believers.
                                                           --Adventist News Network

Finland: Church Cooperates with Abuse Investigation
Finland's National Bureau of Investigation is probing allegations of sexual abuse leveled against former employees of the Toivonlinna Junior College, a Seventh-day Adventist school in Piikkiö, Finland. News media reports indicate the incidents under investigation occurred several years ago and may have involved both young boys and girls.

"We are dismayed and saddened by the news reports that ... employees of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Finland allegedly betrayed their trust," the church said in a statement.

"We stand ready to help in the healing process for those who were injured. Our prayers are with all parties concerned for their well-being, and spiritual and physical restoration," the statement noted.

The statement also said the Adventist Church in Finland has recently been proactive in educating ministers and employees about abuse issues.

"We have taken extensive efforts to inform our clergy, church leadership, employees and educators on how to recognize and report abuse; these efforts will not diminish. And we will cooperate with legally constituted authorities in any way required," the church said.
                                                           --Adventist News Network

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