ARGENTINA

The Latin American Council of Churches, known under its Spanish acronym CLAI, has elected Panamanian Episcopal (Anglican) Bishop Julio Murray as its first black president in a tightly contested election. “I am very happy about this election,” said the Rev. Antônio Olimpio de Sant'Ana, the executive secretary of Brazil's National Ecumenical Council to Combat Racism. “We need to have more black people represented in this church body and we also need to have women in the leadership.” Murray won after a third run off in voting for the presidency of the 150-member church council that is represented in twenty countries. (Ecumenical News International)