Raul de Mello Franco Jr (photo) became a Spiritist at the age of 25. With university degrees in Law and Philosophy, he works a state prosecutor in the city of Araraquara. He is also a member of the Association of Spiritist Lawyers of the State of São Paulo, the main theme of this interview:  When was the Association founded and what are its main goals?  The Association, known as AJE (for Associação Jurídico-Espírita), was founded in March 2008. It gathers judges, magistrates, lawyers, police

officers, law professors and lectures and everyone who works in the legal sector and is willing to discuss legal matters under the light of Spiritism. Our main goals are to disseminate the Spiritist teachings and to help the moral and spiritual development of those who work with the law. By supporting individuals on their individual development we hope to be contributing towards the spiritualization of the legal sector, which is generally known for an atmosphere of materialism and hostility. We also aim at assisting on the development of new legislation and to provide legal assistance to Spiritist institutions in the state of São Paulo.

How many members do you have and how are you structured? 

We have about 220 members, who are organized in eight regional centres. We organize regular meetings in the state capital, São Paulo, when we focus on the debate of legal, philosophical, religious and ethical issues. A recent event, to give you an idea, attempted to answer the following question: “Is it possible to be authoritative and humble at the same time?” We also produce DVDs of our debates. For those who want to find out more, please visit our website: www.ajesaopaulo.com.br. 

As a university lecturer and a state prosecutor, what do you think is the main link between Spiritism and Law? 

Spiritism is an education on how to see things beyond their appearances. It teaches us to look into the underlying motives for many of the events of our lives. Law, as a social science, works with these very facts. AJE highlights the need to look beyond our constitution and legislation. The conflicts that come to the legal system are not isolated facts, social incidents. Everything, even when individual plaintiffs, lawyers etc meet, cannot be pinned on chance. A law suit reveals a lot more than what is written on a piece of paper. The lawyer, the person in charge of making justice, needs to be shrewd to understand all those aspects and to make a decision according to the principles of the law that rules everything: the law of God. 

With so many Spiritists among lawyers and other people in the area, can you see any real changes in the way legislation is written and applied? 

Like in any area of human knowledge, you gain when you add to your professional skills the knowledge of Spiritism. The Spiritist lawyer or law enforcer has a wider view that goes beyond the limits of materialism. They can see the underlying causes and that allows them to fight for a fairer deal or decision. Those who know their decisions go beyond the limits established by contract and pay makes decisions based on the true values of life. That person will reject unfair causes and will focus his professional activity to the treasures mentioned by Jesus. The change in the law environment in Brazil is noticeable indeed. Our Association is only a small seed, the first ray of sunlight to reach a dark place, where spiritual factors are usually a foreign body. But we, Spiritist Christians, are fully aware that we are a small portion, like the sun or the yeast, but one with a huge capacity of transformation to which we cannot renounce. 

In all areas of society we see now a changing society, where fraternity and the respect of differences have more room. Is that the case also in the Law and law enforcement sectors in Brazil? 

The law of progress is indeed taking its course in all Brazilian society, with more openness and solidarity. And values such as solidarity, fraternity, affect, which in other times would remain in the realm of philosophy or religion only, are now coming to the realm of the Law. We have new legislation protecting social rights, children’s rights, and the elderly, as well as important changes on family law. I would say that a silent revolution is going on. 

Anything else you would like to add? 

The different regions we have in the Association are open and welcome anyone who is interested, even those who don’t deal directly with the legal sector or who are not Spiritists. Our website is www.ajesaopaulo.com.br, and there you will find our emails. The regional centre in Araraquara, which is headed by me, has monthly meetings, on the last Saturday of every month. We share personal experiences and we are currently studying one of the core works of Allan Kardec, Heaven and Hell, which focus on the most perfect form of justice, God’s justice. I would like to finalize with a quote by the spirit, Humberto de Campos, in the book written in trance by Chico Xavier (Crônicas de Além Túmulo): “In the worlds and in the space there is the figure of Argos, observing everything. In his tribunal of incorruptible law, the divine Themis plans the plot in the destiny of every creature. And it is only in that form of justice that humankind can look for hope, as man’s law, usually the product of  the strongest power, is sometimes lacking in truth and wisdom.”