Eduardo Henrique de
Medeiros (photo) considers
himself a Spiritist from
birth, even though he
began looking for
further information on
the Teachings after he
became a teenager. He
was born in the
Brazilian city of Natal,
in Rio Grande do Norte
state, and lives in
Pirassununga, in the
state of São Paulo.
He is a Non-commissioned
Officer in the Brazilian
Air Force, specialised
in the maintenance of
aircraft. He is
currently in charge of
the Public Relations
office of the Air Force
Academy, based in the
city of Pirassununga.
He has a degree in
Geography and works as a
volunteer Spiritist
speaker at several
Spiritist speakers in
the area where he lives.
He is also a volunteer
worker at the Mestre
Jesus Spiritist Centre
in the city of Santa
Rita do Passa Quatro as
well as delegate of the
Crusade of Spiritist
Military Men and Women
(known by the Portuguese
acronyms CME) at the Air
Force Academy.
Please explain to our
readers what the Crusade
Crusade of Spiritist
Military Men and Women
is.
The CME is a legally
constituted civilian
society aimed at acting
specifically in the
Armed Forces and
Auxiliary Forces,
gathering the military
men and women who
practice Spiritism,
according to the
codification of Allan
Kardec, and live in
Brazil. Its statute says
it was born “from the
wish of a group of
military men to public
express their beliefs
and to live, without
dispersion, in
evangelical communion”.
It is affiliated to the
Brazilian Spiritist
Federation (FEB). From
November 6th 1987
it has a permanent seat
in FEB’s National
Federative Council.
When and by whom was it
founded?
The CME was founded on
December 10th 1944
and had as its president
General of Division
Fructuoso Mendes, a
member of the Brazilian
Army.
Which activities does
the Crusade carry out
within the Spiritist
Movement?
Units spread across the
country carry out a
number of activities,
from talks explaining
what Spiritism is to
charity and community
actions, including the
distribution of food to
those in need. They also
hold mediunimic
meetings, offer healing,
and run courses on
Spiritism for children,
teenagers and adults.
What is your plan of
action for the future?
We intend to boost
interaction with new
members through the
media. At a first
moment, our plan is to
open access to
interactive material
through the CME’s
website (www.cme.org.br).
I work directly on that
project as the person in
charge of Information
Technology.
Tell us about the First
Meeting of Spiritist
Military Men and Women
at the Air Force
Academy.
I am working with the
local media do publicise
the event. We rebranded
it as the First Meeting,
even though there were
five similar meetings in
previous years. We will
have a Second Meeting in
2018, on September 1stand
2.
Fall the Spiritist
activities you carried
out in the military,
what strikes you the
most?
Hierarchy and discipline
is the base of
militarism. And in the
Spirit World it is not
different. It is very
satisfactory, therefor,
to combine our military
activities with our
Spiritist activities.
We, Spiritist military
men and women, often say
that we are “Soldiers of
Christ: the
Peacemakers”. The
meaning of being a
Spiritist military man
or woman is summarised
in the introduction of
the CME’s statute: “The
Crusade of Military Men
and Women is a fraternal
activity. It does not
split people, nor does
it spread hatred or
personal controversies.
Nothing is imposed on
anyone and there are no
dogmas. We will preach
for those who wish to
hear and we will show to
those who have the eyes
to see. The Crusade’s
moral aspect manifests
itself in the freedom to
believe and in the
respect to all other
beliefs and religions.
We do not compete for
human accolades or
distinctions. We believe
in the love of God and
will spread the
evangelical truths.”
Translation:
Leonardo Rocha - l.rocha1989@gmail.com