------------------------------------------------------------------- F.A.C.T.Net, Inc. (Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network, Incorporated) a non-profit computer bulletin board and electronic library 601 16th St. #C-217 Golden, Colorado 80401 USA BBS 303 530-1942 FAX 303 530-2950 Office 303 473-0111 This document is part of an electronic lending library and preservational electronic archive. F.A.C.T.Net does not sell documents, it only lends them according to the terms of your library cardholder agreement with F.A.C.T.Net, Inc. ------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Satanism [Warren & Saginaw, MI. Linda Barszcz, Evansville, IN. Robert D. Hicks] Satanic Cult Suspected The head of a teenage girl was found in a home freezer in Warren, MI, in June, and police suspect she was killed and dismembered as part of a satanic ritual. The head had been cleaned of hair and skin, and several books and cassettes about witchcraft were found in the basement. A 22-year-old Saginaw man and a juvenile were arrested in connection with the case. News Press (Ft. Myers, FL), 7/13/90, A1. "Demonic Cult Priestess" Accused A woman described by police as the high priestess of a devil-worship cult has been arrested on charges she agreed to help kill a person. Linda Barszcz, 34, and her cult recruited juveniles, stole religious objects, and, in the end, offered to help an undercover police agent kill a fictitious person for $20,000, authorities said. An altar, stolen religious objects, and human teeth were found in Ms. Barszcz' s home across the street from a preschool and a middle school, police reported. Evansville (IN) Courier, 5/25/90. "Fallen Angels" Occult Seminar A half-day seminar for parents entitled "Fallen Angels: Adolescents, Satanism and Cults" was presented on July 7 at Prince George's Community College in Largo, MD, sponsored by the Psychiatric Institute of Washington, DC, and the Family and Child Centers of Prince George's County, MD. Speakers included a police officer, a psychiatrist, and a psychologist experienced in the problems addressed. Cult Observer Report. Satanic Rumors Wrong A rumor that devil worship was going on in town swept New Ulm, MN, recently when Craig and Bonnie Dale, who had been living in Texas, returned home and decorated their house with a sculpture of the Greek god Pan. The rumors were put to rest when the Dales took the matter to local police and cleared up the misunderstanding. Post- Bulletin (Rochester, MN), 5/7/90. Skeptical Inquirer Agrees In "Police Pursuit of Satanic Crime," (Skeptical Inquirer, Summer 1990, 378-89), Robert D. Hicks argues in part II of his series that police cult-seminars promote fundamentalists' views of satanic conspiracy, which does not exist, and that the insights of folklore research and the understanding of urban legends and rumor-panics help explain the appeal and spread of satanic cult stories. Hicks 's argument is expanded in his book In Pursuit of Satan: The Police and the Occult, Prometheus Books (Buffalo), 1990.' In its Summer 1990 issue (pp. 25-34), Free Inquiry carries an article by Shawn Carlson and Gerald A. Larue ("Giving the Devil Much More than his Due") malntalning that "although Satanism may be a symptom of a sick mind, it is not the cause of mental illness. The forces of unreason have marshated together, and innocent people are suffering as a result of the hysteria." Book on Satanism Satan Wants You: The Cult of Devil Worship in America, by Arthur Lyons (The Mysterious Press, New York. 1988. 192 pp. $15.95). A review of Satan worship as it exists in America, in the West Coast Temple of Set, for example, which concludes that contemporary satanic activity is not organized or enduring, and does not involve animal or human sacrifice. Cult Awareness Network News, November 1989, 7. IN THE COURTS 2 Krishna Leader Indicted for Murder Three members of the Hare Krishna community in West Virginia, including founder-eader Keith Ham, 54, also known as Kirtinananda Swami Bhaktipada, were indicted by a federal grand jury last week, accused of conspiring to murder two dissident members of the sect in West Virginia and Los Angeles. The U. S. Attyomey in Wheeling said the government will attempt to seize the group 's 4,000 acres of land and residences at its New Vrindaban community in Marshall County, alleging that they were purchased with $10.5 million obtained fraudulently. The murders include the 1986 slaying ofdissident ex-member Stephen Bryant and the 1983 killing of Charles St. Denis. Thomas Drescher is serving a life term for the latter murder. The government also alleges that Drescher, who faces charges in California for Bryant's murder, was promised $80,000 by Ham to commit the murder and that of another community resident, Terry Sheldon. The New Vrindaban community has been the subject of several other investigations, leading to the expulsion of the commune by the national leaders of the Hindu sect two years ago, and its leader a year earlier. One count of the indictment, which followed a two-year investigation, alleges that Ham and three of the community's corporations violated racketeering statutes by investing the $10.5 million received from fund- raising scams into property and buildings at their community. The indict- ment alleges that the accused used the mails fraudulently to solicit money from the public across the nation. They allegedly solicited funds for a school, but failed to tell those contributing that "children were sexually molested" at the school. Los Angeles Times, 6/2/90. Swami Denies Charges Kirtinananda Swami Bhaktipada denied the murder, racketeering, and mail fraud charges recently brought against him and said they were part of a ploy to seize his 4,000-acre commune in West Virginia. He also said a political figure wanted to use the case against him for personal gain. He refused to identify the figure, but said he played a prominent role in a federal arson case against B haktipada- which ended in acquittal -- three years ago. The Swami also said a coal company that holds mineral rights to much of New Vrindaban wants his devotees off the land so they can mine the coal. lntelligencer (Wheeling, WVA), 6fi/90, 1. Other Krishna Leader Responds Kirtinananda Swami also said that an offer he alleges the government made him -- by which the charges would be dropped if the New Vrindaban community gave up claim to the land it sits on -- probably was connected with the Intemational Society for Krishna Consciousness getting the property. Rabinda Surapa, chairman of the Hare Krishna movement's Governing Board Commission, denied that ISKCON had any part in such a deal, and that the property would not in any case go to ISKCON if seized by the government. The Governing Board Commission labeled Bhaktipada an embarrassment to the other Hare Krishnas and denied Bhaktipada's allegation that it had threatened him. Rabinda said that it was Bhaktipada who had threatened ISCKCON and other Hare Krishnas in the past. He said he would testify in the federal trial against Bhaktipada if called as a witness. lntelligencer (Wheeling, WVA), 6/7/90, 1. Faith Healing in Court 3 Faith Assembly Indictments, Acquittal A Hamilton, OH, couple, Robin and Roberta Woodrum, were indicted in May for relying on prayer rather than medical care in the treatment of the pneumonia of their infant son, who died from the condition. The death is the 103rd such connected with the religious sect. News-Sentinel (Ft. Wayne, IN), 5/15/90, 1, 7. Meanwhile, Faith Assembly parents Michael and Diane Ricks, of rural Noble County, were charged with reckless homicide when their infant son died without medical care of treatable bacterial meningitis. News-Sentinel (6/25/90, 1, 5). And on June 22, Faith Assembly members Gary and Rachel Carlton were found innocent of reckless homicide for failing to get medical help for their son, who died nine hours after birth at the couple's home. They said that they had planned to have a midwife present for the birth of the child but that it came earlier than planned. Ft. News-Sentinel, 6/22/90, 22. 4 Christian Science Convictions In a verdict applauded by prosecutors as a precedent-setting victory for children' s rights and denounced by Christian Scientists as an attack on their faith, a Boston jury convicted David and Ginger Twitchell of involuntary manslaughter in the death of their two-year-old son. They had relied exclusively on prayer to cure the toddler of a bowel obstruction that took his life. The conviction is the fifth in the last two years of Christian Scientists on similar criminal charges. The Boston prosecutor said the verdict "will certainly send out a message that when a child is in need of medical care, in addition to spiritual care, then the obligation of the parent is to provide medical care." He had argued that a 1971 religious exemption to the Massachusetts law on child abuse and neglect did not apply to a seriously ill child. San Francisco Examiner, 7/5/90, A I. The Law and Faith Healing In Deadly Blessings: Faith Healing on Trial (Prometheus Books, Buffalo, 1990), by former Christian Scientist Richard J. Brenneman, deals with the issue through three noted court cases. 5 LaRouche Convictions Upheld Political extremist and fringe presidential candidate Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr. called himself the victim of "a political fix" Monday after the Supreme Court let stand his mail-fraud and tax-evasion convictions. Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk), 6/12/90. New Charges LaRouche fundraiser Keith Levit, of Baltimore, surrendered to police in June and was charged with bilking an 82-year-old Greenbelt, MD, woman of her life's savings. Authorities say the woman was befriended by a man who later accompanied her to her bank, represented himself as her son to bank officials, and persuaded her to withdraw her savings. Levit was one of 16 people indicted in February 1987 in Virginia on securities fraud in connection with LaRouche fundraising activities. Washington Post, 6/28/ 90, B4. 6 Toy Maker Sues Tony Alamo The Mattel Toy company has sued religious cult leader Tony Alamo and two of his companies for having damaged the image of Mattel and Barbie by marketing an unapproved T-shirt with a "religious symbol." Alamo has called Pope John Paul II a "Nazi war criminal," and has been evading arrest for felony child abuse. Alamo Desigsn obtained two licenses in 1989 to make and sell denim jackets with Barbie images. Los Angeles Times, 6/25/90. 7 Abusive "Minister" Convicted Ronald Larrinaga, a 54-year-old self-proclaimed minister, was convicted in Melbourne, FL, in July and sentenced to 180 years in prison for abusing his five children while keeping them virtual prisoners. Larrinaga, who denied the charges, called his daughters "virgin Christian girls" and said the Bible gave him the right to raise his children as he saw fit. He charged that the children were coerced in testifying agains thim and said their souls have been destroyed by prosecutors. St. Petersburg Times, 7/15/90, 5B. 8 IRS Seizes Tony Alamo Property The Internal Revenue Service has seized the Nashville, TN, property of fugitive preacher Tohy Alamo. The IRS says that Alamo, who has been in hiding since he was charged with child abuse in California in 1988, and his various organizations owe $7.94 million in back taxes, interest, and penalties. Insight, 6/23/90. [Insight is published by companies controlled by the Unification Church.] 9 IRS Scientology Audit Halted In the first test of the Church Audit Procedures Act of 1984, Federal District Judge Joseph L. Tauro has halted the Internal Revenue Service's audit of the Church of Scientology. "The unique status afforded churches by Congress requires that the IRS strictly adhere to its own procedures when delving into church activities," the judge said. Because the IRS petition did not show material fact were in question on the church's tax exemption, "this court must conclude that the IRS failed to show a legitimate purpose for its inquiry into the years 1985--1987." Washington times, 6/6/90. [The Washington Times is owned by Unification Church-related companies.] 10 Religious Groups in Schools The U.S. Supreme Court in June rule 8-1 that student prayer groups must be allowed to meet and worship in public schools. The justices said that a 1984 law requiring public schools to let student religious clubs meet on the same basis as other student activities did not violate the Constitution's separation of church and state. Justice John Paul Stevens, dissenting, said the ruling could force schools to open "to every religious, political, or social organization, no matter how controversial or distasteful its view may be." Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk), 6/5/90, A1, A5. 11 Synanon Barred by Casinos [NJ Showboat Casino. Adgap.] The New Jersey Casino Control Commission in May ordered a prohibition against casino contracts with the "church" of Synanon which some former members say became a cult. Synanon has a $330,000 contract with Showboat Casino last year to conduct an employee motivational program, officials said. The group also sold nearly $30,000 worth of pens, pencils, key chains, and other merchandise to the casino in 1989 through a Synanon business, Adgap. The commission's decision did not stem from Synanon's alleged cultism, but from lawsuits and coumtersuits over a Washington land deal which have led to the indictment of a high Synanon official on charges of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government, obstruction of justice, and perjury. Press (Atlantic City), 5/24/90, D5. 12 American Bar Association Seminar "Tort and Religion" The American Bar Association in June held a National Institute on "Tort and Religion" at whichbn presenters discussed, among other things, litigation involving cultic groups and cases in which coercive persuasion has been an issue. IN THE COMMUNITY 13 Award to Oklahoma Scientology Foe [Newkirk Herald Journal and its distinguished editor Robert Lobsinger] Cult Observer Report The Oklahoma legislature voted in May to honor the Newkirk Herald Journal and its editor, Robert Lobsinger, for an investigation of an ongoing attempt by the Church of Scientology to establish one of its Narconon drug treatment facilities on a local Indian reservation. The State Legislature Concurrent Commendation Resolution reads, in part: "Whereas, the Newkirk Herald Journal under his [Lobsinger's] leadership has been an unrelenting supporter of the community of Newkirk and Kay County; and whereas, Bob Lobsinger's quiet, in-depth search for facts uncovered startling information concerning Narconon, a supposed drug rehabilitation center, and the Church of Scientology; and whereas, his reports are backed by docu- mented history as opposed to rhetoric and misrepresentations; and whereas, Bob Lobsinger's initial presentation and subsequent followups, in spite of continued indirect threats and allegations, have shown great courage and loyalty to the Newkirk Community and the S late of Oklahoma. Now there- fore, be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the 2nd Session of the 42nd Oklahoma Legislature, the Senate Concurring Therein: that the Oklahoma Legislature commends Bob Lobsinger for his in-depth research of documented facts and his subsequent reporting of those facts." Commenting on the award, Lobsinger wrote in the Herald Journal, "We believe that a community newspaper should do more than entertain and make money. A community newspaper has an obligation to inform, warn, preach, and plead for what is good for the town it serves. "Sometimes the stories are tough to cover. Sometimes even frightening. Sometimes they make people angry. Sometimes ------------------------------ "His reports are backed by documented history as opposed to rhetoric and misrepresentations." --State Legislature Commendation ------------------------------- they are dull. Sometimes it means exposing the warts on our community nose. And, of course, once in a while the stories we run happen to be fun and entertaining. "But we hope they always make you think. And when necessary, act. "Our name is on the Sate Legislature's Concurrent Commendation Resolution reprinted on this page. But it would never have happened if our readers had not reacted to our coverage of the Narconon-Chilocco story. It should also have your name on it. Every one of you! We couldn't have done it without you." Herald Journal, 5/24/90, 2. 14 Faith Assembly: Shaken But Surviving [Hobart Freeman] The 1984 death of founder Hobart Freeman factionalized the Faith Assembly when several leaders were drummed out of the church for questioning church docu-ine demanding prayer rather than medical treatment for illness. Attendance, once thought to be near 2,000, is now around 800. Many members left because of the belief in the exclusivity of prayer as treatment. Some members now go to a doctor or dentist for ailments, and a state study in 1987 showed that the death rate among infants in the sect -- once very high -- dropped 48 percent in recent years. But it is still considered a strong sign of faith to avoid treatment, as indicated by a number of recent charges against Faith Assembly parents for not seeking medi- cal treatment for their children, who died of treatable conditions. Ft. Wayne (IN) News-Sentinel, 4/18/90, 1, 9. 15 Krishnas on the Beach [Volusia County, FL] Hare Krishnas are preparing to frequent beaches in north Florida in traditional Krishna dress. Volusia County official are reportedly less than enthusiastic about the prospect of religious solicitors roving the beach, but acknowledge there nothing they can do to prevent it. The county ordinance regulating commercial soliciting, such as advertising and time-share condo peddling, does not contain any reference to religious non-profit organizations. Ft. Myers (FL) News Press, 7/13/90, 4. Briefly 16 Cult Awareness Mailgram [LaRouche] The Cult Awareness Network in June organized a mailgram- to-Washington campaign to "Let Congress know Americans want exploitation of the elderly by LaRouche stopped!" The full page ad in the CAN newsletter said: "You can send a mailgram to your Congressman and Senators just by calling Western Union... Tell Congress that you want the public protected! Your mailgram of support is a powerful and compelling tool ." Cult Observer Report. 17 Cruise to Benefit Cult Clinic Jim Barrail Tours of Corvallis, OR, will incorporate in one of its 7-day cruises in December five hours of seminars on "Cults in the '90s," with most of the profits going to the Positive Action Center, a counseling center devoted to helping cult victims. Jim Barrail, whose daughter has become involved in a cult group, says in a release that he is putting on the benefit cruise in appreciation for the Center's work. Cult Observer Report. 18 Ex-TM Group A notice in the City Paper (Washington, DC) of July 20 reads: "TM-EX: for members support/referral. Information about transcendental meditation's fraud and deception. P.O. Box 7565, Arlington, VA 22207." Cult Observer Report. 19 CUT Kids Targeted? Members of the Church Universal and Triumphant in Montana claim that some of their children are being recruited away from the controversial group by a network of local churches promising foster homes for them. Park County Sheriff Charley Johnson said that there is potential for violence by some of the CUT parents, adding "I think they are right." He said that runaway children will be returned to their parents and that there will be an investigation to determine if there is an organized effort to recruit, hide, or remove juveniles from parental contact." Enterprise (Livingston, MT), 3/19/90. 20 Bomb Shelter Values A local government appraiser has estimated the market value of 24 bomb shelters built by the Church Universal and Triumphant, at its Montana community, at $2,645,000. Livingston (MT) Enterprise, 5/22/90. IN THE COMMUNITY 21 Ex-Followers Demonstrate Against TM [Curtis Mailloux] From "Grottocling the Guru," by Susan Gervasi, City Paper (Washington, DC), 7/13/90: 14, 16. More than 800 members of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's Transcendental Meditation, attending a week-long convention at Washington, DC's Omni-Shoreham Hotel in June, faced the protest of members of TM-EX, an informal anti-TM group that educates the public about TM and offers "exit counseling" to those who want out of the movement. One TM-EX, former 15-year follower Curtis Mailloux, a 33-year-old real estate broker from Fairfax, VA, denounced the organization as a cultist religion that is exploitalive, deceptive, and damaging. Mailloux is a 1979 graduate of Maharishi International University, in Fairfield, IA, who in 1985 became head of TM's Washington Center. TM-EXers do not dispute that TM can be an effective relaxation technique, though they say it is no better than similar relaxation regimens. The danger in TM, they say, comes when the discipline takes over the meditators' lives. TM-EX member Joe Kelley said: "When we started we were told it was a simple, effortless technique for releasing stress with no religious implications. Initially, it was a 20- minute technique." But by taking advanced residence courses and other activities, "I was effectively made into a Hindu believer," said Kelley. Former TM teacher Diane Hendel, who has sued the organization for fraud and extortion, said the many bizarre mental experiences she had were considered a sign of spiritual superiority. "I saw little creatures with wings" during intensive meditation periods, she related. "They were like my pets. They'd tell me things." She was encouraged to believe that these winged beasties were "devas"-- Hindu spirits of nature. "I began not to be able to tell who was a person and who was a deva," she said. Hendel sought counseling, eventually quit meditating, and left the movement. Mailloux said involvement in the movement becomes "a prison of specialness. Especially as a leader in the movement, there's no way you can leave this group and be [regarded by other devotees as] OK or leave with dignity... I was only special as a nervous system which is a 'generator of purity,' not as an individual." Mailloux's "specialness" earned him three years in Florida with a group of celibate TM men, living monastically within the movement, where he enjoyed the adulation of female movement "groupies" drawn to his hard-to-get-ness -- a common ego-trip among the celibates, he said. Some movement women with low self-esteem, he added, tend to get fixated on these celibate men and get milked for donations to support them. Many bizarre mental experiences she had were considered a sign of spiritual superiority. 22 "Mind Control" [TM, Curtis Mailloux] EX-TMer Curtis Mailloux said he was "an extremely contented member" until he read Combatting Mind Control by Steve Hassan. "It hit me from left field that something was wrong with the movement." His doubts about the ethics of teaching TM were heightened when he studied hypnosis and saw the similarities between it and TM. "[TM techniques are] the most sophisitcated techniques for mind control that have ever been used," he said. "I have friends who are 40 years old and totally trapped in this . . . they're becoming unable to work for a goal." Instead, they constantly beg distant "well-wishers" for support money to keep them in various organization environments like MIU [Maharishi International University]. At the organization's highest levels are cowed yes-people, Mailloux said, aping both the guru's accent and syntax. "[Maharishi] throws temper tantrums like a little spoiled child . . . and there's no one to stop him. It's a very, very frightening feeling -- everyone regresses when he does that and you feel as if he could extinguish your life." But after getting singled out for verbal abuse, "They'd feel so special because they'd been abused by the master," he said. "At my prime of absurdity, I was sitting in full lotus [position] for two hours on a black deerskin -- not a brown deerskin -- just like Maharishi, with rush grass underneath, beads to protect me from evil influences, coral to develop my intellect . . . everything had to be perfect for me to get my deep buzz," he said. "The techniques are powerful enough so you do get a buzz. I was being the goodst boy, I watned to be in an unreproachable state. I was a little Maharishi." [related story follows] 23 TM Calls Accusations False MIU legal counsel Bill Goldstein said in a phone interview that TM-EX's description of the movement as a cult or religion is "false and farfetched because individuals of a variety of faiths practice it with no conflicts. He characterized TM-EXers as "individuals who are disaffected and alienated." Some are seeking publicity to support their pending lawsuits," he added. And a 36-year-old TM member attending the convention -- an attorney -- said the TM meditation program had brought him "increased prosperity" and a youthful appearance. "Even if it's a placebo effect, it's OK with me," he added. "So what if some things are hidden by TM's leaders?," he asked. "What if I'm thankful for is they're giving out so much of it . . . I don't know the difference and it doesn't really matter." City Paper (Washington, DC), 7/13/90, 14, 16. 24 Est's Erhard as God Former employees of est founder Werner Erhard say they were forced to obey the pop psychology guru in a manner "akin to God" and to submit themselves to "numerous instances of verbally and physically abusive behavior." The sworn statements were filed in late March in support of a wrongful termination lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court against Erhard by Charlene Afremow, a long- time associate of the human potential movement czar. Former employee Michael Breard says in his statement that one of his duties was to wake Erhard up every morning by "kneeling at the foot of the bed, putting my hands under the covers, and massaging his feet and his calves in a particular manner." Breard was also supposed to make sure that Erhard's toiletries were lined up in an exact row each morning. "Mr. Erhard was an incredible perfectionist and was extremely verbally abusive if tasks were not performed according to his exact specifications," Breard said. Breard added that he was physically struck on one occasion but that Erhard's usual way to "berate me would be to scream obscenities at me in a voice which is louder than I can describe." San Francisco Chronicle, 4/3/90, A4. 25 LaRoucheites: Business As Usual Although Lyndon LaRouche has been in prison for fifteen months, his followers in Leesburg and Loudoun County, VA, continue to publish numerous magazines and newspapers, field candidates for political office, employ county residents, and pay business and property taxes. Despite the conviction of LaRouche and the indictments of a number of followers on various charges, the organizations tied to LaRouche appear as strong and energetic as ever. Loudoun Times-Mirror (Leesburg), 6/6/90, A1, A1 I. 26 "Free LaRouche" Platform Lewis du Pont Smith, the embattled Du Pont chemical fortune heir and follower of Lyndon LaRouche, who has been judged incompetent to handle his wealth, will run as an independent for Congress from Pennsylvania this year. A major plank of Smith's campaign is freedom for the jailed LaRouche, whom Smith calls "America's leading political prisoner." Daily Local News (West Chester, PA), 4/6/90, A1, A2. 27 Jailed LaRouche on VA Ballot Virginia election officials approved nine independent candidates for the November ballot for U.S. Senate and House seats, including political extremist Lyndon H. LaRouchc, Jr., whose House campaign is being waged from a Minnesota prison, where hc is serving time for conspiracy and fraud convictions. Four others with ties to LaRouchc were also certified as candidates. Washington Post, 7/14/90, B4. Yahweh ben Yahweh Yahweh ben Yahweh, who considers himself the son of God, has been preaching a sermon of black economic development since the U.S. attorney's office opened a probe into accusations of murder and extortion tied to his religious sect. He now spends his time pressing his development message to politicians and businessmen while presiding over $8 million worth of buildings in predominantly black Miami neighborhoods. Lake City (FL) Reporter, 5/14/90, 3. IN THE COMMUNITY 29 Moonwatch. Divorce Rate In "Unification members still supportive," members of the Rev. Moon 's church say that the group's divorce rate, even in light of the mass arranged marriages for which it is noted, is about 10 percent, compared with a commonly stated national average of about 50 percent. Beacon Journal (Akron, OH), 1/20/90, B 1, B3. 30 North Carolina Politics... The American Freedom Coalition, a right-wing political organization created by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church, is operating in North Carolina and pursuing a conservative agenda. AFC's North Carolina director is Ronald J. Pappalardo, 35, an ordained Unification Church minister, the organization's only paid employee in the state, who earns $30,000. State board members include a retired mathematics professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who says the church has "never attached any strings to the money we get," and the assistantprovost-dean at Shaw Divinity School, which received a $30,000 donation from Moon in 1985. Enterprise (High Point, NC), 5/14/90. 31 ... and "Mainstreaming" [Moonies] "Unification Church members seek mainstream" tells of a couple and their children who have ceased being missionaries for Rev. Moon's church and are now involved in politically conservative social causes in upstate New York. John Dorski supports his family through a $42,000 annual salary as the regional coordinator of the non-profit American Constitution Committee, a national organization founded in 1987 at Moon's request and funded by his supporters to propagate, according to its literature, the "spirit of the U.S. Constitution." Sunday Times Union (Albany, NY), 6/17/90, B 1, B6. 32 Reaction In Princeton [to Moonies' office] The April opening of an office of the Unification Church in Princeton has stirred a maelstrom of anti-cult feeling in the community. On the Princeton University campus there was a flap over the distribution of flyers by church members, and a flurry of of "cult awareness" stories has appeared in the local Princeton Packet and in the university student newspaper, the Daily Princetonjan. In addition, a prominent former member, Allen Tale Wood, warned a meeting of 40 teachers, counselors, clergy, and social workers at the Princeton Township municipal building of the dangers posed by the Unification Church, which he said was out to snare and trap the best and the brightest young people. Trentonjan (Trenton, N J), 5/18/90. 33 "Greatest Person in History" [Sun Myung Moon] "Today we are gathered to celebrate the seventieth birthday of the greatest person in history." From an address given at the Chamshil Stadium, Korea on February 1, 1990, referring to the birthday of Unification Church founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon. Unification [Church] News, April 1990. 34 Ballet Canceled The School of Cleveland Ballet canceled plans to host auditions for the Universal Ballet Academy after learning the group is affiliated with the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church. Responding to a call revealing the Academy's link to Moon by the Cult Awareness Network, a Cleveland Ballet representative said, "We're concerned about the best interests of the children." Similar concerns about the auditions, and calls from the Cult Awareness Network, cut into turnouts in New York and Philadelphia. A spokesman for the Universal Ballet Company said the cult awareness reports have fueled "hysteria." "We've been up-front and honest. All the church is providing is funding. It's got nothing to do with religion, nothing to do with politics." News-Herald (Willoughby, OH), 5/19/90. 35 Moon Business Review "Moon Bolstering Area Business Enterprises" reviews Unification Church projects in the U.S. and abroad, including the changing Communist world, especially noting plans to expand its burgeoning Washington, DC, video operation into a nationwide cable television system. Washington Post, 7/27/ 90, A1. 36 L.A. Times Series: Scientology "Here to Stay" Between June 24 and 29, the Los Angeles Times published a comprehensive six-part series on the Church of Scientology which deals at length with the history and current status of the controversial oganization. In remarking on the present state of affairs, the introduction to the series says: Today, the Scientology movement is writing a new chapter in its history, one that has attracted a new generation of supporters and detractors. Through official church programs and a network of groups run by Scientology followers, the movement is reaching into American society as never before to gain legitimacy and new members. The apparent intent is to position [Scientology founder] Hubbard as a sort of 20th-Century Renaissance man, lending new credibility to his Scientology teachings. Among other things, church members are disseminating his writings in schools across the U.S., assisted by groups that seldom publicize their Scientology connections. Scientology followers have also established a number of successful consulting firms that sell Hubbard's management techniques to health care professionals and businessmen. In the process many are steered into the church. And Scientologists are the driving force behind two organizations active in the scientific community. The organizations have been trying to sell government agencies and the public on the chemical detoxification treatment developed by Hubbard. There is little question that, although Hubbard is gone, Scientology is here to stay -- and doing its best to meet his expectations. "The World is ours," he once told his adherents, "Own it." Los Angeles Tinmes, 6/24/90, A36. 37 Versus Depression Drug [Scientology, Prozac] In a mailing to members apparently from Scientology's Citizens Commission on Human Rights, members are urged to flood Newsweek with letters protesting a cover article on "Prozac, A Breakthrough Drug for Depression." CCHR, alleging that mass murderer Joseph Wesbecker was on Prozac when he killed eight people last year in Louisville, says that the article "is outright promotion of Prozac, ECT (electric shock treatment), lobotomies, and psychiatry in general." Cult Observer Report. 38 Newsletter [Citizens Commission on Human Rights, Scientology] Scientology's Citizens Commission on Human Rights is now publishing a newsletter, out of a Los Angeles office, called Psychiatric Update. The first issue discusses CCHR activities in the U.S. and Australia. Cult Observer Report, 3/25/90. 39 Museum [Clearwater, Scientology] The Church of Scientology has opened up a museum in Clearwater, FL, its international headquarters, dedicated to providing "a service to the community to find out what Scientology is and what we're doing," said a spokesman. St. Petersburg Times, 7/31/90, B1, B8. 40 Political Issue [Clearwater, Scientology] Some candidates for political office in Clearwater, FL, are criticizing opponents for alleged assocations with the Church of Scientololgy -- whose international headquarters is in the area -- or its various projects. St. Petersburg Times, 7/29/90, 1, 5. 41 Study Says TM Prolongs Life A study in the December issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, which is published by the American Psychological Association, says that elderly people who were taught Transcendental Meditation lived longer than their peers. One psychologist interviewed about the study said it was a dramatic finding; two others suspected that the outcome was due to factors other than TM. A co-author of the study, done at Harvard, is a professor at Maharishi International University. Huron (MI) Daily Tribune, 2/5/90. 42 Bread of Life [Roman Catholic community] A mission of Catholic men. women, and children of the Bread of Life community left Akron, OH, in January on a mission to Honduras led by founder Dick Herman. The community was investigated by Catholic Church authorities in 1985 who found it had "cult-like" tendencies. Beacon Journal (Akron, OH), 1/ 12/90. 43 CUT Newsletter The Church Universal and Triumphant in Montana is producing a community newsletter calling for people to vote against Park County Commissioner Carlo Cieri's bid for reelection because he is an outspoken critic of the church. The newsletter instructs CUT members on how to register to vote, telling them they need only be a Montana resident for 30 days prior to an election and "have an address here." Enterprise (Livingstone, MT), 5/ 9/9O. ================================================================= If this is a copyrighted work, you are acknowledging by receipt of this document from FACTNet that on the basis of reasonable investigation, you have not been to obtain a copy elsewhere at a fair price, and that you are and will abide by the following copyright warning. WARNING CONCERNING COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS: The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photo copies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified by law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. FACTNet reserves the right to refuse to accept an order for copying or other duplication, or delivery of copied or duplicated material if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law. ------------------------------------------------------------------- CARD CATALOG ENTRY DOS FILENAME OF TEXT FILE: CO0490 DOS FILENAME OF IMAGE FILES: CO0490.TIF ADMINISTRATIVE CODE: OK SECURITY CODE: SCO DISTRIBUTION CODE: RO DESCRIPTION FOR BBS FILE LISTING: The Cult Observer, July/August 1990. SORT TO: AFF CONTRIBUTOR: American Family Foundation (AFF) LOCATION OF ORIGINAL: American Family Foundation (AFF) NOTES: Back issues and selected reprints of the Cultic Studies Journal are available from the American Family Foundation, P.O. Box 2265, Bonita Springs, FL 33959-2265. For additional verification see the contributor of the document. This text below was produced by scanning a printed copy of the Cult Observer. Hence a few errors may have been introducted inadvertently. Please consult the printed copy if there is any question about the text. U.S.A. STORIES | 1 Satanism [Warren & Saginaw, MI. | Linda Barszcz, Evansville, IN. | Robert D. Hicks] | 2 Krishna Leader Indicted for Murder | [Keith Ham (Kirtinananda Swami | Bhaktipada) New Vrindaban, Stephen | Bryant, Charles St. Denis. | Rabinda Surapa, ISKCON] | 3 Faith Assembly Indictments, Acquittal | [Robin & Roberta Woodrum. Michael | & Diane Ricks. Gary & Rachel | Carlton.] | 4 Christian Science Convictions | [David & Ginger Twitchell. Deadly | Blessings by Richard J. Brenneman] | 5 LaRouche Convictions Upheld [Keith | Levit, fundraising] | 6 Toy Maker Sues Tony Alamo [child | abuse charges] | 7 Abusive "Minister" Convicted [Ronald | Larrinaga, alleged child abuse] | 8 IRS Seizes Tony Alamo Property | 9 IRS Scientology Audit Halted | 10 Religious Groups in Schools | 11 Synanon Barred by Casinos [NJ | Showboat Casino. Scientology.] | 12 American Bar Association | Seminar "Tort and Religion" | 13 Award to Oklahoma Scientology Foe | [Newkirk Herald Journal and its | distinguished editor Robert | Lobsinger] | 14 Faith Assembly: Shaken But Surviving | [Hobart Freeman; children denied | medical treatment] | 15 Krishnas on the Beach [Volusia | County, Florida] | 16 Cult Awareness Mailgram [LaRouche] | 17 Cruise to Benefit Cult Clinic | 18 Ex-TM Group [Washington, DC] | 19 CUT Kids Targeted? [by local | churches] | 20 Bomb Shelter Values [CUT] | 21 Ex-Followers Demonstrate Against | TM [Curtis Mailloux] | 22 "Mind Control" [TM, Curtis Mailloux] | 23 TM Calls Accusations False | 24 EST's Erhard as God [Michael | Breard] | 25 LaRoucheites: Business as Usual | 26 "Free LaRouche" Platform [Lewis | du Pont Smith] | 27 Jailed LaRouche on VA Ballot | 28 Yahweh ben Yahweh [accused of | murder] | 29 Moonies' Divorce Rate Low | 30 North Carolina Politics [Moonies] | 31 . . . and Mainstreaming [Moonies] | 32 Reaction in Princeton [Moonies] | 33 Greatest Person in History [Sun | Myung Moon] | 34 Ballet Cancelled [Moonies | in Cleveland] | 35 Moon Business Review | 36 L.A. Times Series: Scientology | "Here to Stay" | 37 Versus Depression Drug [Scien- | tology, Prozac] | 38 Newsletter [Citizens Commission | on Human Rights, Scientology] | 39 Museum [Clearwater, Scientology] | 40 Political Issue [Clearwater, | Scientology] | 41 Study Says TM Prolongs Life UPDATED ON: 10/10/94 UPDATED BY: FrJMc =================================================================