Jorge
Godinho Barreto Nery:
“The Golden Pact is the
best expression of
understanding among
Spiritists”
The new
President of the
Brazilian Spiritist
Federation (FEB) covers
in this interview a
number of issues and
says that achieving
fraternity is the
biggest challenge for
the Spiritist Movement
in Brazil
|
The Brazilian Spiritist
Federation (FEB) elected
in March its new
president, Jorge Godinho
Barreto Nery (photo).
For more than three
decades he has played a
prominent role in the
Brazilian Federation and
abroad.
Jorge Godinho was
President of the
Spiritist Centre
|
Léon
Denis, in Rio de
Janeiro, in the 1970s.
As a Spiritist speaker,
he has travelled the
world to help
disseminate Spiritism.
|
He is a military man,
having served in the
Brazilian Air Force for
48 years, retiring as
lieutenant-brigadier.
Do administrative
aspects of the
unification of Spiritism,
its bureaucracy, affect
the principle of
spontaneous union among
Spiritists?
Union must be
spontaneous, a free
choice made by human
beings and, in this
case, Spiritists. That
is the only way that
each one of us will
express this feeling of
union out of choice.
Jesus Christ, our master
and leading example,
says: “My disciples will
be recognised for loving
each other”. If we aim
to be disciples of
Christ then the
principle of UNION will
be kept in any
circumstance.
Many Spiritist Groups in
Brazil see the state
level and national level
federations merely as
administrative,
bureaucratic bodies.
What do you plan to do
to get FEB and the
Spiritist Groups closer
to each other?
First and foremost, I
would like to say that
the Brazilian model of
Spiritist Federations is
not only important; it
is the ideal programme
for Spiritism in the
country. FEB dedicates
all its efforts to the
great job of
unification. However, we
respect free will and
will always work hard to
minimise and overcome
damaging dissent. We
must get together to
assist in the impersonal
and joint task of
bringing the Gospel to
the people.
The Golden Pact (signed
in 1949 by FEB and the
Brazilian state
federations) can still
be seen as the great
landmark of the
unification of Spiritism
in Brazil?
The Golden Pact is the
best expression of
understanding among
Spiritists, who may
disagree in the debate
of ideas, but should not
make of their
disagreement a reason
for rows and
intolerance. The Golden
Pact came to enable the
development of Spiritism
within a climate of
freedom, but it should
never discard the
principles of fraternal
love, union and the
Unification of the
Spiritist Movement in
Brazil. The Golden Pact
will always be the great
watershed in the
Unification of Spiritism,
having consolidated the
early work of Dr Bezerra
de Menezes.
What are the biggest
challenges facing the
Brazilian Spiritist
Movement?
To consolidate Union and
fraternity.
What are your views on
eBooks and digital
media? Would free books
available for download
in the Internet have a
negative impact on the
finances of FEB?
This is something we
need to discuss. But FEB
has already put more
than 120 eBooks on its
website for download,
some of them free of
charge. The plan is to
increase this number
every week.
In a world driven by
money, where even
Spiritist meetings
become huge events,
charging a fee from the
participants, what is
FEB’s advice?
We recommend caution and
respect, without
complicity, but guided
by the Gospel.
Your final thoughts,
please.
I thank you for this
opportunity, wishing
that we can continue to
be connected by a sweet
alliance of fraternity
and peace under the
guidance and protection
of Ishmael, the
Spiritual Benefactor of
Brazil, and Jesus.