Chile’s president says country’s respect for life mandated great efforts to save lives of Chilean miners

I see that 26 of the rescued Chilean miners have just been welcomed to Manchester United by football legend Bobby Charlton.

Back in October my wife heard an astonishing interview about their rescue on Radio Five Live’s Drive programme.

Reverend Alfredo Cooper, chaplain to Chile’s president, spoke to presenter Peter Allen and gave an amazing testimony about the role prayer and faith had played in the whole drama.

I found the interview on ‘Listen Again’ later that night and transcribed it on this site.

Others copied and pasted the words and a recording of the interview appeared on you tube and on other websites.

Later a friend pointed out to me that one of the miners was wearing the CCC logo of Campus Crusade for Christ on the right shoulder of his T-shirt and the Jesus Film ‘Jesus’ on the left shoulder. The front of the shirt carried the Chilean Flag with the words ‘Gracias Senor’ (Thank you Lord!)

You can see the pictures on this site.

I have just this last week received word of another video featuring the miners titled Chile, The Miners, and Respect for Life.

The six minute video features video footage of the rescue along with interview clips but then goes on to give a prolife message and show some fascinating Chilean government adverts on marriage, family and pregnancy.

Chile has a strong judicial-legal system with their Constitution and civil, criminal, juvenile and health codes protecting the life of the unborn.

Chile’s president, Sebastián Piñera, apparently said that Chile’s respect for life mandated the great efforts to save the lives of the miners. A few days later, Cabinet Minister Carolina Schmidt publicly linked the Chilean effort to save the lives of the miners to their great respect for human life including protection of the unborn.

Schmidt had also previously announced a few months before at an international UN-related meeting in Brasilia, Brazil, that Chile’s new government is pro-life, and therefore would not accept abortion. As a result, some other Latin American countries followed Chile’s example, and subsequently made similar clarifications.

Chile is a pro-life model for the world in other ways too. It has the lowest maternal mortality rate in all of Latin America. This has been reduced by over 50% from 43.7 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 21.1 in 2008 placing it at 46th in the world just 7 places behind the US and primed to overtake.

This relationship between abortion rates and maternal mortality is important to note because abortion promoters are pedaling the false notion that legalising abortion reduces maternal mortality as a way of promoting abortion in developing countries.

This is one of the myths highlighted in CMF’s submission to the Department For International Development’s (DFID’s) recent consultation on maternal mortality.

Maternal deaths worldwide have in fact fallen from 500,000 to 343,000 between 1990 and 2008. This has nothing to do with abortion.

Our report concludes that the real solution to reducing maternal mortality is multi-level: addressing social attitudes, education and empowerment of women, good quality obstetric/midwifery care and better birth spacing.

Furthermore this is best achieved through positive engagement with religious leaders, communities and faith based organisations (FBOs).

Chilean Miner’s T-Shirt gives testimony to Jesus Christ: ‘To him is the honor and the glory’

Just received another fascinating update on the Chilean miner’s story to follow up the Alfredo Cooper interview I blogged about two days ago.

Apparently someone passed an audio version of the Jesus Film to the miners during their imprisonment. And this guy (pictured) jumping for joy at his release is wearing a Campus Crusade T-shirt!

The CCC logo of Campus Crusade for Christ is on the right shoulder and the Jesus Film ‘Jesus’ on the left hand shoulder. The front of the shirt carries the Chilean Flag with the words ‘Gracias Senor’ (Thank you Lord!)

On the back are the words of Psalm 95:4: ‘Porque en su mano están las profundidades de la tierra, y las alturas de los montes son suyas’ (In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also). The text at the bottom reads ‘To him is the honor and the glory’.

Fantastic interview! Rev Cooper, chaplain to Chile’s president, gives glory to God on Radio Five Live about God’s hand in rescue of Chilean miners

Reverend Alfredo Cooper, chaplain to Chile’s president, was interviewed this afternoon about the rescue of the Chilean miners on Radio Five Live’s Drive programme by presenter Peter Allen.

Cooper took the opportunity with both hands to give the full glory to God, delivering a wonderfully clear and gracious testimony about the power of prayer. You are very unlikely to read the following transcript in any newspaper, so enjoy!

The discussion took place just after 5pm and you can now hear it on you tube or on the Christian Institute website.

Peter Allen: ‘Actually there was one gentleman I got a chance to talk to a little bit earlier. He’s the Reverend Alfredo Cooper. I’ll be absolutely honest with you. We heard an English voice down the line and in fact this gentleman apparently had turned up to thank the British press for what they’d done with this whole event and when they heard his English voice we got him in front of the microphone. He’s called the Reverend Alfredo Cooper. He’s actually chaplain to the country’s president and he told me when he first got involved in the aftermath of the mine’s collapse.’

Rev Cooper: ‘I am a chaplain in the presidential palace and so we had to quickly put together an emergency prayer meeting and it was with all our hearts because to imagine these 33 men a kilometre under the earth not knowing whether they were alive or what was going through their minds.17 days we prayed and then the miracle came when the boring machine glanced off a rock and hit them – hit the cavern they were in - and of course we just erupted in praise. The second service the president called for was a praise meeting so we had a thanksgiving service and since then we’ve had constant prayer. And this has been one of the interesting factors for folk like us to notice. Many of the miners went down as atheists, unbelievers or semi-believers and they have come up to a man testifying that they were not 33 but that there were 34 down there - that Jesus was there with them and that they had a constant sense of his guidance and presence.’

Peter Allen: ‘If you truly believe that it was divine intervention that rescued then presumably you believe that it was divine intervention that left them down there in the first place. I mean it doesn’t always make sense this kind of (chuckles) argument does it?’

Rev Cooper: ‘Well the thing is that in this fallen world this is exactly what does occur. Man is subject to accidents and all sorts of problems thanks often to his wilful negligence as was the case in this mine. There are consequences when you don’t care enough for people. And of course in those situations we might compare Jonah in the whale - you know people tend to cry out to God and this is what’s happened. And God has answered.’

Peter Allen: ‘So you believe God listened to your prayers? God listened to your prayers - God listened to their prayers. You believe they were rescued by divine intervention really?’

Rev Cooper: ‘Well of course we see the hands of all these magnificent experts all around, the good will of so many people internationally and the brilliant coverage of the press and we would suggest that all this works together for good, that certainly as we prayed God has guided in remarkable ways – even the scientists. I was with the NASA people who came the other day. And to my surprise - to a man they were believing scientists in their case - and they all said “This was a miracle. There is no other word for what happened here”.’

Peter Allen: (mumbling and sounding a bit uncomfortable)

Rev Cooper: (really getting into it now!) ‘So you know - Scientists, politicians, presidents - we’ve all come together in one happy moment saying, “Goodness! God is there and he answers prayer.” That’s how we feel. And certainly the miners are also testifying to the world of this - not just about that but certainly it seems to be a central factor.’

Peter Allen: ‘That’s the religious perspective from the Reverend Alfredo Cooper. It’s 5.15pm.’

I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.
Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust.
(Psalm 40:1-4)