There are no impossible dreams, just our limited perception of what is possible.

Quae sivi; inveni: purgavi saepius: atque Conjunxi: maturavi: Tintura secuta est Aurea, Naturae centrum quae dicitur: inde Tot sensus, tot scripta virum, variaeque figurae Omnibus, ingenue fateor, MEDICINA metallis; Infirmisque simul: punctum divinitus ortum.

Non nobis Domine, non nobis; sed Nomini Tuo da gloriam

The Declaration of a Global Ethic

This declaration was presented at the 1993 Parliament of the World`s Religions, held in Chicago, Illinois USA. It was then signed by 143 leaders from all the world`s major faiths. It was offered to the world as an initial statement of a group of rules for living on which all of world`s religions can agree.

We are interdependent. Each of us depends on the well-being of the whole, and so we have to respect for the community of living beings, for people, animals and plants, and for the preservation of Earth, the air, water and soil. 

We take individual responsibility for all we do. All our decisions, actions and failures to act have consequences.

We must treat others as we wish others to treat us. We make a commitment to respect life and dignity, individuality and diversity, so that every person is treated humanely, without exception. We must have patience and acceptance. We must be able to forgive, learning from the past but never allowing ourselves to be enslaved by memories or hate. Opening our hearts to one another, we must sink our narrow differences for the cause of world community, practising a culture of solidarity and relatedness.

We consider humankind a family. We must strive to be kind and generous. We must not live for ourselves alone, but should also serve others, never forgetting the children, the aged, the poor, the suffering, the disabled, the refugees and the lonely.

No person should ever be considered or treated as a second-class citizen, or be exploited in any way whatsoever. There should be equal partnership between men and women. We must not commit any kind of sexual immorality. We must put behind us all forms of domination or abuse.

We commit ourselves to a culture of non-violence, respect, justice and peace. We shall not oppress, injure, torture or kill other human beings, forsaking violence as a means of settling differences.

We must strive for a just social and economic order, in which everyone has an equal chance to reach full potential as a human being. We must speak and act truthfully and with compassion, dealing fairly with all and avoiding prejudice and hatred. We must not steal. We must move beyond the dominance of greed for power, prestige, money and consumption to make a just and peaceful world.

Earth cannot be changed for the better unless the consciousness for individuals is changed first. We pledge to increase our awareness by disciplining our minds, by meditation, by prayer or by positive thinking. Without risk and a readiness to sacrifice there can be no fundamental change in our situation. Therefore we commit ourselves to this global ethic, to understanding one another, and to follow socially beneficial, peace-fostering and nature-friendly ways of life.