The Catholic priest François Charles Antoine Brune (photo) is a specialist on Eastern and Western mysticism. He was ordained in 1960 and in 1987 began observing psychic investigation and what is known as Instrumental Transcommunication (ITC). He is a successful speaker and the author of many books, including The Dead Speak to Us and

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Do you have any personal experience with TCI, Instrumental Transcommunication?

I never made any concerted effort to receive the voices through TCI. But I have watched in many occasions the research done and was present in many instances when the voices were recorded on tape. Once with Marcello Bacci, in Grossetto, Italy, I had the opportunity to speak directly to a spirit, through the speaker of a radio set. 

Who communicates through mediums or TCI? The spirits of those who died?

In most cases, I believe, we communicate with the dead, who live now in another dimension. But I believe we’ve also been contacted by extra-terrestrials. I also believe we can contact different forms of energy, as in the case of Manfred Boden. 

I will ask you a provocative question: isn’t it a contradiction for a Catholic priest to believe that Jesus was born as a man to save Humankind? If there is intelligent life in other planets, it means that Humankind is not only on Earth. What would Catholic theology say about that?

I don’t have a problem with that, as I can’t speak on behalf of official Catholic theology, which, by the way, doesn’t have an official view on the subject. All I can give is my personal opinion. I believe that all the planets were created by the same God, as there isn’t another one, and were also created by love. And they probably faced the same trouble with freedom. I even believe that the Son of God reincarnated in each of those planets and enjoyed the same triumphal reception he got on Earth. The Greek priests of the early centuries of Christianity used to say that. 

Will science need new paradigms so it can discover the spirit?

Yes, I believe science will need to adapt to a reality that escapes it at the moment. We can make a useful analogy: if I go fishing, in order to catch many fishes I will need to change position and adapt to where the fish are. It won’t work if I ask for the fish to change course and come looking for the fishing line. The fishing lines are the scientific theories we have to “catch” reality. If I keep the same line, I will never be able to catch the reality that has been escaping me. Science needs thus to change its paradigms to be able to adapt to new levels of reality. 

Is it true that there are scientist priests in the Vatican carrying out research in that area?

Yes, there is a small team of 2, 3 priests who are aware of the phenomena. What I’m not sure of is if they carry out their own research. There war a priest, Andreas Resh, who founded an Institute of Parapsychology in Innsbruck, Austria. He was a lecturer for many years on the phenomena, in an Institute that received funds from the Vatican. He has now left the teaching, but told me that cardinals would from time to time approach him and ask whether he could get messages from the spirits of their mothers, for example. (Laughter) 

Scientific proof of eternal life will, do you think, be considered a revolution for Humankind in the same was the Industrial Revolution was?

Yes, it should be an even bigger revolution. But bear in mind that in the Middle Ages, almost everyone in the West believe in life after death, and yet not many became saints. We continued to have criminals, people inebriated by pride, power, money… That truth didn’t change people, as it should have. We now have less faith in eternal life and are more at risk of becoming “monsters”, but “finding” eternal life won’t be enough to turn everyone into a saint. 

From your experience, what are the main objectives of the spirits when they send messages to those who are still on the planet as incarnates?

There are two main goals. The first is to bring console to the loved ones they left behind on Earth and that are very often completely desperate. The second is to reaffirm that life goes on after death and that God exists – they remind us of that very often – and that He is waiting for us, that he created us out of love and that the reason why were are alive on Earth is to grow up in this world of love. 

Who are the other scientists you know that are doing research in this area?

There are many: Sinesio Darnell, in Spain, Prof. Senkowski, Hans Otto Konig. Also in Italy Danielle Gullà, Paolo Presi, and many others in Brazil and France. I believe the best work at the moment is being carried out in Italy. Adolf Holmes in Germany also had amazing results, but he wasn’t a researcher, was just someone who received a great number of messages and had no scientific background to carry on with the research.  In Luxembourg the couple Julles and Maggy also received wonderful messages, but they lacked the intellectual resources to carry out the research, and the same happened with the German man, Klaus Schreiber, who died recently. 

But the experiences are valid, aren’t they?

Absolutely, all that doesn’t mean the results are not extraordinary, or that they are not understood. I knew well the couple in Luxembourg and Adolf Holmes and I am sure that there was never any fraud. I also watched some of the experiences, I was there and also with Marcello Bacci in Italy, who doesn’t have a scientific background but equally achieves amazing results.  

Do you have a message to the Spiritsts of Portugal?

Please continue to work in that field. Continue to progress in Love, every one of you in your daily lives, as we are on Earth so we can learn to love. Make use of these means of communication with the other dimension of life to comfort your faith, the Christian faith as a whole, despite the dramatic state the Catholic Church is facing. This Church is not faithful to the message of Christ, but we hope it will one day be renewed and we must work towards that goal. But, most of all we all need to keep our faith in Christ. 

This interview was originally published on the Jornal de Espiritismo of ADEP, in Portugal.