Belém, Pará... On June 18, representatives of the Brazilian state of Pará approved, in all rounds of voting, a Bill which prohibits holding public examinations on Saturday. The Bill was authored by Representative Martinho Carmona, president of the Pará Legislative Assembly, and states specifically that exams cannot be scheduled between 2 p.m. on Fridays through 6 p.m. on Saturdays.

Quoted in O Liberal, a local newspaper, President Carmona said, "With this new development, Seventh-day Adventists, Jews and others will have the same opportunities that everyone else has. This is nothing more than recovering a right that they did not have." The push for this effort came when 13 Adventist university students faced an exam scheduled on Saturday (or Sabbath) last March. When the students approached President Carmona, they were given permission to sit for the exam on a Saturday night instead. "We were happy, because in addition to helping us, President Carmona took the initiative of proposing the new Bill. He also accepted our invitation to speak in one of our worship services," said Orley de Morais, one of the 13 students.

"While the approved Bill will only apply in the state mentioned above, there are similar laws in 15 other states in Brazil. This approval is definitely a positive milestone for the Adventist Church in Brazil. In standing firm for our beliefs, our students have played a part in not only "opening doors" with a government official, but making the path easier for future students," commented Siloé Almeida, director of public affairs and religious liberty for the church's South American Division territory.

The Bill has been sent to Governor Almir Gabriel, to be sanctioned or vetoed. According to the Elder Jairo Emerick Torres, president of the church's South American Division, it was Governor Gabriel who sanctioned the law regarding college entrance examinations in 1998. Thus Torres is confident that Governor Gabriel will be consistent by sanctioning the Bill for Belém, Pará.

The Adventist Church membership in South America total close to 2 million in the fourth quarter of 2001. [Viola Hughes]