Imagens de Portugal

«The Orient, courageously and successfully explored by the Portuguese, is coveted by many today for its lucrative trade. We, however, have a more noble purpose in mind. We reflect upon those immense regions of the Indies where for many centuries men of the Gospel have expended their labor. Our thoughts turn first of all to the blessed Apostle Thomas who is rightly called the founder of preaching the Gospel to the Hindus. Then, there is Francis Xavier, who long afterwards dedicated himself zealously to the same praiseworthy calling.» 

                                      Ad Extremas, Encíclica do Papa Leão XIII

Pensamentos

What others think of us would be of little moment did it not, when known, so deeply tinge what we think of ourselves. 

[trad. livre: O que os outros pensam de nós seria de pouca monta, se não soubéssemos tão profundamente o que pensamos de nós mesmos.]

Logan Pearsall Smith (ed.), Little Essays: Drawn from the writings of George Santayana, Hardpress, Miami, 2015. 

Imagens de Portugal

«(...) [I]n the present world we witness many historic churches crumbling to dust to give way for modern ones. One among the “twin churches”, which is dedicated to Mary, erected in 1864, located at Ramapuram, a quaint little town in Pala, Kottayam (...). [Adiante, o autor indica exemplos em Portugal de preservação do significativo histórico para resolver os problemas advenientes da adversidade que é o tempo e abandono do património humano]. Situated on the left of Mondego’s river bank, next to park Portugal dos Pequeninos in Coimbra, Portugal, the S. Francisco Convent built in the 17th century has witnessed several changes in its history. It was converted as a textile factory in 1888 and deactivated in the 1980’s. In 1995, the convent was purchased by Coimbra City Council and converted into a cultural centre. The St. Francisco convent and its campus consists of three physical components such as an old church, cloisters and a new auditorium with 1,225 places, along with several multi-purpose rooms. This centre hosts all sorts of activities from music to contemporary circus, theatre to conferences.» Binumol Tom [PhD], Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kottayam, Departmentof Architecture), 22 Nov 2018 @ The Hindu (Índia)

Progress is a noxious, culturally embedded, untestable, nonoperational, intractable idea that must be replaced if we wish to understand the patterns of history.

@ Gould, Stephen Jay, «On replacing the idea of progress with an operational notion of directionality», in Nitecki M (ed.), Evolutionary Progress, 1988, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 319-338.

Imagens de Portugal

Shaleen Title, Commissioner of the Cannabis Control Commission

«Couldn’t this policy make dangerous drugs more available to those who currently have no access to them?

Portugal decriminalized all drugs in 2001, and there were fears that by taking away criminal penalties, crime and drug-use rates would go up. That hasn’t happened. Several Massachusetts legislators recently visited Portugal to try to learn from that model because it was so successful.»

Fotografia de Joanne Rathe/Boston Globe Staff

Instituições

Sem uma perspetiva institucional de longo prazo o custo das mudanças são maximizadas e, assim, muitas vezes, a eficácia da democracia é intermitente. Enquanto os recursos e as circunstâncias oscilam os objetivos são dispersados.

É necessário adicionar na sociedade portuguesa uma instituição, a Instituição Real, propiciadora de permanente conversação democrática, visando o consenso estratégico, sem o qual, todos os esforços se esvaem.