ADEP’s new publication is on its fourth edition. For the Association, setting up a newspaper that deals with the main issues concerning Spiritism was a major challenge. We spoke to its editor, the journalist, Jorge Gomes (photo), who is also the vice-president of ADEP. He discussed many of the questions being asked about this new venture (1):  Tell us about the idea of founding Jornal de Espiritismo.  There was a niche in the market and it was so obvious that it began to force us into action. We had the human resources,

For those who don’t know, what is ADEP, who are its members? 

ADEP is an organisation gathering in the beginning journalists, writers, those involved in marketing, teachers and lecturers. Those were people who had the expertise and were willing to use some of their spare time to help the Portuguese Spiritist Movement, which lacks financial resources. The idea was to get professional help to make the best use of the media. ADEP is made up of some 20 members and other contributors who take part in many projects, from a basic online Spiritism course to Internet forums and other activities. 

Is there enough demand in Portugal to justify the publication of a newspaper? 

The Spiritist teachings have an amazing impact with the audiences. Whenever a TV channel, a radio station or a newspaper broadcast or publish anything connected with Spiritism, there’s an immediate audience response. The reason for that is the powerful issues Spiritism deals with, such as life after death, reincarnation, mediumship etc. There’s much curiosity and interest surrounding those issues. Even those who insist on saying that the “dead” never return to tell us how their death experience was can’t resist checking on those media reports. 

What issues do you usually deal with? 

There’s a bit of everything. From reincarnation to mediumship and issues of general interest in our times, such as the traffic of human organs, sexuality. As I said, a bit of everything. In our publication, we have articles from doctors, psychologists, university lecturers, engineers, journalists, business managers and others. Most of our contributors are not professional journalists or broadcasters, but they do have good knowledge of Spiritism. 

Can we say Spiritism is another new religion that is becoming popular in Portugal, having come from Brazil? 

Spiritism – or the Spiritist teachings – is not a religion, it’s a way of life. It’s based on facts and experiments. The search for meaningful answers is very much part of it, which takes Spiritism into the realm of philosophy. It also looks for practical applications to those philosophical questions; we are very much in the path of looking for personal and common development. I can’t deny there are some people in Spiritism who end up reverting to traditional religious practices, because they bring into the teachings their old passions and habits. The less they study Spiritism, the more likely they are to incur in that. But that’s not really what we’re aiming to achieve. 

As the editor of Jornal de Espiritismo, what is the feedback you’re getting? 

So far, it’s been very positive. I think some are even exaggerating in their support and the generosity of their comments. After all, this is still a very young publication. 

Why can’t you buy the paper in Portuguese newsagents? How can you get it? 

The number of copies printed is still too small to justify that. Financially and editorially, that’s yet not viable. But those who wish can get the paper, which is published every two months, though an annual subscription via the ADEP website (2).  

Finally, how do you think Spiritism can be useful for society? 

It can be useful by being the subject of serious, systematic study. That will help people assimilate the ethical values of Spiritism. That way, societies will be made up of more and more people guided by the feelings of fraternity, backed up by sensible information about the real issues of life. And violence will inevitably be on the decrease. That is the main thing. Everything else will come as a natural consequence.

Interviewer’s note:

Those who wish to buy the Jornal de Espiritismo may do so through the email jornal@adeportugal.org, via phone number + 351 938256134 or by writing to address Apartado 161, 47111-910, Braga, Portugal.

(1) This interview was first published on November 16^th, 2009, on the blog artigoespiritaslucas.blogspot.com.

(2) After this interview was published for the first time there’ve been positive developmens. The paper is now sold by a national chain of supermarkets, Hipermercados Continent, in its 19 “Book’it” shops.