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Manifest of Good Will (V)

X —The worldwide Economics cannot be at the mercy of experiences, even if well-intentioned, which damage more and more the institutions' credibility before the People.The Human Being, with his Eternal Spirit, must be in the center of Economics, as...

Overcoming Differences

June 25 marked 25 years since the United Nations (UN) adopted the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (1993). Among its 100 topics, it states that, “The World Conference on Human Rights considers human rights education, training, and...

What Is Missing in the World for There to Be Peace?

Never before has civilization achieved such significant technological advancements as it has today. What is missing then for there to be Peace? Progress needs to be sublimed by Ecumenical Spirituality, which potentially accompanies us—whether we...

Ecumenism

Several Degrees of Knowledge

Source: Reflection of Goodwill, taken from the book “Tesouros da Alma” [Treasures of the Soul], November 2017.

We are all children of the same Father, or of a single planet, as the skeptical line of thinking imagines, for it still does not admit the reality of a Superior Celestial Intelligence. Scientific thinking, however, by virtue of a Reason that is free from dogmas, prejudice, and taboos, will get there.

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Alziro Zarur

Brazilian thinker Alziro Zarur (1914-1979) wrote: “There are as many religions as there are degrees of understanding of human beings, according to the sum of their incarnations.”

Analyzing this quote from the great journalist, radio broadcaster, writer, philosopher, social activist, and founder of the Legion of Good Will (LGW), Alziro Zarur, I can ecumenically conclude that, following the same reasoning, there are several perspectives for understanding Philosophy, Politics, Economics, Art, Sport, Sociology, Physics, Chemistry, Anthropology, Psychology, Psychoanalysis, and other areas of human knowledge.

Ethical Ecumenism

That is why respecting the opinion of others is a clear definition of Ecumenism, which, in turn, in no way suggests abandoning any commitments made to a community. Being ecumenical is also being responsible; therefore, it means no harm to the elementary principles of ethics.

José de Paiva Netto (1941-2025), a writer, journalist, radio broadcaster, educator, composer, poet, the President Emeritus and Consolidator of the Legion of Good Will, and Spiritual Leader of the Religion of God, of the Christ, and of the Holy Spirit. He was an effective member of the Brazilian Press Association (ABI) and the Brazilian International Press Association (ABI-Inter), a member of the National Federation of Journalists (FENAJ), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Union of Professional Journalists of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the Union of Writers of Rio de Janeiro, the Radio Broadcasters Union of Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian Union of Composers (UBC), and the Academy of Letters of Central Brazil. He became an internationally recognized author in the defense of human rights and in his concepts of Ecumenical Citizenship and Ecumenical Spirituality, which, in his own words, represent “the cradle of the most generous values that are born of the Soul, the dwelling of emotions and of reasoning enlightened by intuition; the atmosphere that embraces everything that transcends the ordinary field of matter and comes from elevated human sensitivity, such as Truth, Justice, Mercy, Ethics, Honesty, Generosity, and Fraternal Love. In short, the mathematical constant that harmonizes the equation of spiritual, moral, mental, and human existence. Now, without the understanding that we exist on two planes―not only on the physical plane―it will be difficult to build a Society that is truly Ecumenical, Altruistic, and Solidary, since we would still be ignoring that the knowledge of Superior Spirituality elevates the character of creatures and, consequently, leads to the construction of the Planetary Citizenship.”