Edir Macedo

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Edir Macedo, 2007

Edir Macedo (born February 18, 1945 in Rio das Flores , state of Rio de Janeiro ) is a Brazilian entrepreneur and the founder of the Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus (IURD), a neo-charismatic denomination of the Pentecostal movement with approx Million followers worldwide and the headquarters in Rio de Janeiro . He is u. a. Owner of a secular corporate conglomerate, with publishers, supermarkets, travel agencies, lumber mills, real estate companies and, above all, a media empire with dozens of television and radio stations across the country, including the Brazilian TV station Rede Record , which he bought in 1989 for 45 million US Dollars bought. According to Forbes (2013) "Bishop" Macedo is by far the richest pastor in Brazil. In 2013, his net worth was estimated at between $ 950 million and $ 1.2 billion. Macedo lives with his family in New York City .

Life

After finishing school, Macedo worked as a lottery seller in Brazil. Macedo left the Roman Catholic Church because he had previously experienced an emotional disappointment in his personal life. He then founded an independent Pentecostal church in 1977, the Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus ( German : Universal Church of the Kingdom of God ) in Rio de Janeiro .

Edir Macedo, who calls himself bishop, not only preaches the love of God; the founder of the fundamentalist free church is also a master at collecting donations . With around eight million members worldwide, the "universal church" is one of the largest churches in Brazil and is pushing the Catholic Church ever further back. In five thousand centers, millions of believers are indoctrinated with questionable methods . Although he was repeatedly involved in scandals, his “Kingdom of God” is flourishing magnificently. In 2009, Macedo got into an affair for embezzlement and was charged by the Brazilian public prosecutor's office with establishing a criminal organization . It was about 1.5 billion euros, which the "universal church" between 2003 and 2008 indirectly in Brazilian companies, u. a. also in jewelry. Since then, the public prosecutor's offices in New York City and São Paulo have jointly investigated the universal church due to unclear financial transactions. At the end of April 2010, two foreign exchange dealers testified that between 1995 and 2001 they illegally smuggled around 5 million reals (2.2 million euros) from Brazil to the USA every month. In total, it was about 400 million real (180 million euros).

The indictment alleged that the movement had used donations with the help of foreign straw companies to build media organizations . The Brazilian constitution only allows religious organizations to fund institutions for the practice of the faith. Macedo's Church includes the Rede Record television station , several radio stations and three daily newspapers, as well as a travel company and an air taxi airline . Its political arm, the Republican Party of Brazil, is represented in parliament with 35 MPs and supported the former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva . In its media, the “universal church” described the indictment as a smear campaign. Earlier investigations against the church for embezzlement and tax evasion had remained inconclusive.

Empire building

A large part of the wealth comes from donations: The universal church demands at least ten percent of the income from its believers, which, however, can only be used for church purposes. Macedo was already in prison because he excelled as an exorcist , faith healer and charlatan . He emotionally lashes believers in such a way that mass hysteria often ensues. Several times he filled the largest soccer stadium in Rio with hundreds of thousands of fans. Thousands of people threw glasses and sticks on the lawn at the services because, in their euphoria, they believed they had been healed.

On his own TV channels, cult leader Macedo has believers appear who claim to have recovered from AIDS , cancer and paralysis . Boris Herrmann writes in his article on the Brazilian television program: "The program mainly consists of moral teaching, it is openly anti-gay and tends to be anti-Islamist." Macedo also has control over a party called Partido Republicano Brasileiro , which has MPs in the National Congress. His supporters hold political offices, for example the office of Mayor of Rio de Janeiro , elected in 2017 , Marcelo Crivella .

In the meantime, Macedo considered running in elections to "establish a theocratic state" in Brazil . He now supports the government of Jair Bolsonaro .

His broadcaster Record financed the 2018 movie Nada a perder (Nothing to Lose) about Edir Macedo's life, which is based on his autobiography, is referred to by critics as a glorification and which is made a blockbuster with free tickets in the churches. A second part is announced for 2019.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil , Macedo caused displeasure when he described the coronavirus as an invention of the media or the "punishment of Satan".

Audio

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Brazilian Free Church in Berlin "Money is the cornerstone in God's work" , by Peter B. Schumann Deutschlandfunk Kultur October 6, 2019
  2. ↑ Jan 17, 2013, 7:00 pm EST The Richest Pastors In Brazil , by Anderson Antunes, forbes.com, Jan 17, 2013
  3. ↑ # 1638 Edir Macedo & family , forbes.com February 3, 2015
  4. ^ SZ: Donations misappropriated, Expensive Path to Paradise accessed August 20, 2009
  5. ↑ Ex-sect bishop on vote and party purchase scandal: Lula's Labor Party paid to sect party called August 4, 2011
  6. ↑ Archive link ( Memento from January 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) El Pais , Uruguay, accessed on January 20, 2013
  7. ↑ Sueddeutsche: Brazil before the Pope's visit - a microphone for God's voice
  8. ↑ Macedo: 'Me converti, após uma desilusão amorosa' ( Memento of December 13, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) accessed August 4, 2011 (pt)
  9. ^ FU-Berlin: the war for souls, report ( Memento from June 13, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) accessed December 8, 2009
  10. ^ Süddeutsche Zeitung: Donations misappropriated - Expensive Path to Paradise accessed August 4, 2011
  11. ↑ Folha de S.Paulo: Estados Unidos decidem investigar Edir Macedo por estelionato, diz TV accessed August 4, 2011
  12. ↑ Treasurer of the "Universal Church" arrested in the USA ( Memento from September 7, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  13. ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: Brazil's head of state Lula defends sect lawsuits against critical media as legitimate August 4, 2011@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.berliner-journalisten.com
  14. ^ Domradio.de: Media war over evangelical sect in Brazil - Church or criminal association? ( Memento from July 30, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  15. ↑ Lula and the Faith Healer Charlatans accessed August 4, 2011
  16. ↑ Klaus Hart Brazil texts: World footballer Kaka, Armani model, “UN Ambassador against Hunger”: Investigation into support of a criminal miracle healer called August 4th 2011
  17. ^ "Blood, corpses and then the weather" , in: Süddeutsche Zeitung, online from November 26, 2015
  18. ↑ Fabiana Frayssinet: RELIGION-BRAZIL: Intolerance Denounced At UN . Interpress Service. July 3, 2009.
  19. ↑ Rodrigo Tolotti: Quem é Cabo Daciolo, o candidato nacionalista que quer transformar o Brasil em uma teocracia. informoney.com.br, August 9, 2018, accessed January 6, 2020 (Brazilian Portuguese).
  20. ↑ 'It is strange': Brazilian church blockbuster plays to empty cinemas , Dom Phillips, The Guardian , May 16, 2018 (English)
  21. ^ Films sobre Edir Macedo se torna a maior bilheteria do cinema brasileiro , Tiago Dias, Folha de S. Paulo , May 7, 2018 (Portuguese)
  22. ↑ Mônica Bergamo: Vídeo mostra Edir Macedo dizendo que coronavírus é inofensivo e que Satanás e mídia promovem medo. March 15, 2020, accessed July 28, 2020 (Brazilian Portuguese).
personal data
SURNAME Macedo, Edir
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Brazilian clergyman
DATE OF BIRTH February 18, 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Rio das Flores , Rio de Janeiro, Brazil