Manifest of Good Will (IV)

Religious democracy – LGW’s pioneering initiative

The World Parliament of Ecumenical Fraternity is born under the seal of Democracy, but not the merely electoral Democracy, the partisan one. We speak about a Democracy in harmony with the Divine Laws that rule Man’s life on Earth, even if he has already known how to understand them or not (...). It means a pathway situated beyond the Capitalism and the Communism, two atheisms that were not able to solve the problematic situation of human and social questions, and also to re-dimension the Christian Democracy in order that it reaches the Christic Highest of the Politics of God: the Politics for Man and his eternal Spirit.

Democracy is the regime of responsibility. Hating is not democratic. Since March 11, 1949 (in the “Cinelândia Matinal” program, by the veteran Evangelic broadcaster Adolfo Cruz, in the Radio Nacional from Rio de Janeiro), Zarur used to profess, “Brazil needs now, more than ever, the union of all its sons”. On that occasion, Adolfo congratulated him for his effort to unite religions, respecting all the thoughts, spreading the Christian faith: “(...) Trusting God’s mercy, you accomplish a good work that deserves our respect, our admiration.

We preach Democracy not only in Politics, but all the areas of human life, mainly in Religion that must walk at the forefront, for the mission of Peace it has on Earth; otherwise what would it be used for? It is an action of humbleness that in order to bear fruit, needs, first of all, to be covered with the armor of the courage. See the examples of Jesus’ Apostles, after the Resurrection. The greatly missed Worldwide LGW’s Founder used to say, “The greatest criminal is the one that preaches hatred in the name of God”. And moreover, “Ruling is to teach each one to rule himself”.

Nobody would define better the most profound meaning of the Teaching for a strong nation on the Third Millennium.

Love – God’s Intelligence in us.

The Religious Democracy, which opposes diametrically to all fanaticisms, is the essence of the Unrestricted Ecumenism, the Legion of Good Will’s thesis, respected for all the open-minded people that do not want to miss the rocket of History, because the Unrestricted Ecumenism is a question of collective survival, therefore, irreversible. It singularizes the Fraternity in its deepest and widest sense. Soon, it will be adopted by all beliefs, because Love is God´s intelligence in us. The one who lives, he will see!

When we speak about the union of everyone on behalf of the good of all, some might be afraid, thinking that they would have to give up their points of view, within the boring level of an impersonal adhesion, the deplorable human automatism. That is not what all this is about. In an Ecumenical Democracy, all people have the duty of expressing, in a civilized manner, their ideas, their way of watching the things. However, nobody has the right to hate under the pretext of thinking differently. Gandhi already used to say, “Divergence of opinion must never be a reason for hostility”. And for thinking that way the Mahatma became the deliverer of his people. The duty the citizen has of expressing his point of view with civility does not mean that he must be the winner in order to Democracy to be valid. Absolutely not, democratic is to know how to live with defeat too. The one who does not accept this does not know what Democracy means. Moreover, what is defeat?! A good meal is not made with only one ingredient. Nobody can stand it: only rice, only beans, only corn flour... So it is in the combination of everything that we make the nourishment that keeps body alive in a dignified manner. For it is in this wide range of different opinions, but of united, solidary feelings, understanding we are all Brothers that lies the moral and spiritual substance that raises a Country, within the true Democracy. It is always good to repeat that Democracy is the regime of responsibility. May we know how to live, therefore, the unity in diversity, so that all together may overcome adversity, without illusions, facing the world head-on. Face to face!

Proclaiming the Good Will as an act of true Politics, LGW definitely assumes its vanguard position.

The Life is eternal, thus the necessity of Politics not only reaching the material Man, but also his Spirit. Politics must be practiced with sacerdotal dedication by all segments of society.

(To be continued)