Cássio Leonardo Carrara: 

“Spiritist journalism is attracting more and more interest from Spiritists and non-Spiritists”
 

	Cássio Leonardo Carrara (photo) is a journalist working at the Publishing House O Clarim – the pioneering group founded by Cairbar Schutel. He was born into a Spiritist family in the town of Mineiros do Tietê and lives in the town of Matão, in São Paulo state. Cássio was introduced to Spiritist literature   from  a  very  early  age  thanks  to  his
parents’ involvement in the Movement. In this interview he talks about the book he wrote about the history of the Publishing House O Clarim:

Tell us a bit more about you. 

I was born in 1988 and have been in Matão since December 2000. I have degree in Journalism from the Araraquara University Centre.  

Tell us about the book you have written. 

The book is called O Som da Nova Era – O Clarim e seus Maestros. The idea was to produce a journalistic book that could be submitted as my final work for the graduation in Journalism. To be taken into consideration, the book must be of social or historic relevance and relate to events in the region. I focused on the history of the people who founded and have kept the publishing house alive. The main figure, of course, was the great pioneer of Brazilian Spiritism, Cairbar Schutel, who discarnated in 1938. The book has a few biographies of the main names who have kept the work of the publishing house since 1905 and all its developments ever since, including the centenary celebrations. 

How long did it take you to prepare and write the book? 

As it was a piece of academic work, I had to go through all the stages, from preparing a project to the final submission of the thesis. I chose the subject in March 2011, developed the project until November, did the first interview in January 2012 and finished writing it in September. All in all, it was 18 months of work. 

Did you feel you had any support from the Spiritual World in those 18 months? 

Not clearly, but I felt that the writing process was very fluid and I did not need to revise much. I was usually happy with what I wrote the first time. 

Was your decision to write about O Clarim influenced by the fact that you worked there? 

No. When I decided to write about it, in March 2011, I worked for another company. I joined them a few weeks later, in April. It was a big coincidence, but it helped me a lot with the research. 

Do you feel your progress as a journalist is helped by the fact that you come from a Spiritist family and know Spiritism? 

Absolutely, as you grow up with the principles of Spiritism in your mind and you are able from the beginning to think and reason in a structured way, a Spiritist way. 

What are your future projects? Another book, perhaps? 

I am doing a post-graduate course in Corporate Media. I intend to specialise and become more experienced in that area. I am not planning at the moment to write any other book, but I would certainly like to expand on the content of the book I have written when I have the opportunity. 

What is your main inspiration from the Brazilian Spiritist Movement? 

I try to focus on my area of expertise and work, media. I think the various Spiritist Federations across Brazil are doing a good job in disseminating information about the Teachings and events. Spiritist Journalism, as we may call our work area, is attracting more and more attention from Spiritists and non-Spiritists, which is natural as the issues we discuss are of interest to everyon, are about their daily lives. We will be helping to shed light on the doubts of our readers if we remain faithful to the basic principles of Spiritism and explain those basic concepts well. 

Your final thoughts. 

I would like to thank you for this opportunity. I think we should value those working with Spiritist Journalism, as they encourage reading and help spread the Teachings, event when they reach a small number of people. One article in a magazine, newspaper or the Internet can be the opening door to bigger involvement in Spiritism.