A message received from Brazilian anthropologist Bia Labate:
Dear friends,
Please find below a report and a petition for assistance for the Casa Regina della Pace [Queen of Peace], the Santo Daime (CEFLURIS) church and community in Assisi, Italy (www.santodaime.it). I have traveled to Assisi twice, the land of San Francesco, visiting the community and participating in their rituals, and I am deeply moved by the current events.
A small town with a mystical ambience and encrusted in the mountains, Assisi is home to a number of spiritual and therapeutic centers, as well as being the international hub of the Franciscan movement. The small Santo Daime community lives in the surroundings of the church and neighborhood. The church is under the leadership of Tizziana Vigani, a former hippie and globetrotter. She met Padrinho Sebasti ão in the 1970s in Brazil, after which she lived in India for several years, finally embracing her destiny as a daimista. The church members work in the area, live with collective spirit and frequently travel to Brazil. Committees (prominent members of the Santo Daime church who travel to different locations, around Brazil and abroad, conducting rituals) led by Padrinho Alfredo Mota de Melo, Alex Polari, Paulo Roberto and Luiz Mendes have all visited Assisi in recent years.
The following is an account of the episodes, according to information provided by the community in Assisi:
On August 10, 2004, the police in the airport of Peruggia found 27 liters of Daime on Walter Mezzoni, who was returning from Brazil.
[Walter is 30 years old, and works as a consultant for Italian Cooperation for the Development of Mozambique of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He came upon the Santo Daime in 1998, while studying for his master ’s in Administration in the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. In 2000-2001, he spent six months in C éu do Mapi áand C éu do Juru á, and since then has always been returning to Brazil. He has been living in Assisi for several years, collaborating with the administration of Casa Regina della Pace.]
On September 9, 2004, the police arrived at the community in several cars. They entered the church and the house of some members and performed a search. Two liters of Daime (ayahuasca) were found.
On March 15, 2005, Walter was arrested in his hometown of Reggio Emiglia, near Bologna, just as he was about to travel to Mozambique. Though he was traveling on account of his employment for the Italian Ministry, the press declared that he was fleeing. A number of slanders have been published in the news about “a band of drug dealers disguised as a religion ”(see e.g. noticias.terra.com.br/brasil/...rna/0,,OI490612-EI306,00.html)
On March 17, 2005, six members of the community in Assisi were arrested, under the accusations of international drug trafficking, use of drugs, illegal association and other charges. Sentences could lead from eight to twenty years.
Some eighteen other people were arrested in Milan, Trieste and Genova, even some who are not official members of the religion. In total, some twenty-four people have been arrested in Italy. According to reports, all have been confined to house-arrest and await trial.
I have not been able to acquire precise information about the episode on the larger scale. It would seem that the several events are not associated.
On April 4 there will be a hearing in Assisi. While six members remain detained, the community awaits the outcome.
The Italian community has requested a global chain of prayer. Daimistas can send messages of support containing the following information: name, age, profession, I.D. document, e-mail address, church affiliation, time since affiliation, and a brief testimony on the effect of Santo Daime on your life. Sympathizers associated to other contexts of ayahuasca use may also send similar messages of support. Other people, not related to the ayahuasca context (whether religious or not) may also participate and express their solidarity and affirm the legitimacy of the Santo Daime religious movement. Scientific researchers with unpublished theses and other publications are invited to submit messages of support in favor of the liberty of the religious and ritual use of ayahuasca, including bibliographic references of their academic production. Please send your message to: casareginadellapace@libero.it.
Further details and information concerning the case, and their public circulation over the internet are highly welcome.
The arrest of these people is revolting, no less that the insane international war on ‘drugs ’!
Best wishes,
Bia Labate
altodasestrelas.blogspot.com
(Translation: Christian Frenopoulo)
As someone who has experienced Ayahuasca and fully intends to do so in the future, I feel a particular kinship with the people involved in this case. I find it appalling in the 21st century that people would face persecution for practicing spirituality in a way that causes no harm to others. In fact, the spiritual use of Ayahuasca has roots that stretch back long before Christianity; and ironically, they are actually a syncretic Christian church. The most significant difference between the way they practice their faith and that of, say, the Catholic church, is that the sacrement used by Santo Daime is not a placebo, unlike the bread and wine used by Catholics.
I wrote the following letter in support of Santo Daime, and would encourage anyone else who feels that people have the right to practice religion or spirituality in their own way to write a letter as well.
I am writing this letter in support of the members of Santo Daime in Italy who are suffering persecution as a result of their spiritual use of the sacrament Ayahuasca. It is my most fervent hope that the Italian legal system will recognize the legitimacy of Santo Daime, as have the governments of Spain and France – and of course Brazil, where Santo Daime originated.
I have not participated in Santo Daime rituals, although I hope to do so one day. My introduction to the soul medicine Ayahuasca occurred about a year and a half ago as part of a spiritual retreat I attended in Peru. We had three sessions during which we drank Ayahuasca, and although I found the experience very challenging, I also found it quite rewarding and healing. For example, during the second ceremony I gained an insight into the Buddhist practice of metta when I found myself spontaneously sending out waves of love into the universe. It is very clear to me that the nature of the Ayahuasca experience makes it very unlikely that it would ever be used as a “recreational drug”, which it most certainly is not. A small report on my experience may be found at this URL:
http://infinitespiral.blogspot.com/2005/02/ayahuasca-retreat-in-peru.html
I fully intend to do more work with Ayahuasca in the future, and support the right of others to do likewise if they so choose.
There are many ways for humans to seek authentic spiritual experiences, and I believe we should be tolerant of diverse faiths and religious/spiritual practices. To persecute people based on a different way of practicing spirituality is barbaric and has no place in the modern world. The members of Santo Daime harm no one in their rituals and have every right to continue to practice their faith. My heart goes out to the individuals in Italy who are facing the possibility of lengthy prison sentences in the current legal case. I want they and their families to know that people around the world are praying for a positive outcome for them. I would also hope for healing for those who wrongly see the use of Ayahuasca in a spiritual context as a form of “drug abuse” or as a threat to society. People who work with Ayahuasca tend to be very loving, compassionate people, and productive members of society.
In my opinion, and that of anyone who has personal experience with the Vine, Ayahuasca has great potential – in the proper context – to help heal people psychologically, to deepen their spirituality, and to help heal communities and the planet as a whole. It is not, and never will be, for everyone – probably not even for most people – but for those who are called to that particular path, I wish you all the best. May all be free to seek what is highest, deepest, and most loving in the human heart - in their own way, free from fear and persecution.
Blessings to everyone who is involved in this case.
There was a Canadian case several years ago in which the judge rendered a lenient sentence, citing the many letters he received from around the world as a factor in his decision. May it be so in this case as well.
Ayahuasca is increasingly accepted in the modern world, but it obviously has a way to go yet.
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