------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------- CARD CATALOG ENTRY ------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 Australia: Distress Over Children of God More "Flirty Fishing" An elderly former solicitor told a Melbourne court in March that he was a victim ofwhat the Children of God__sometimes called the Family of Love -- refer to as "fiirty fishing" when he was drawn into an apparently "mutually loving" four-year- long relationship by a member of the group in return for money, food, and a small truck. The solicitor was testifying in a custody battle between a father, no longer a member of COG, and a mother, who remains a member with some of their children. Others testified that "fiirty fishing" involved young women in the sect seducing "fish" -- men from outside the group -- to gain money and gifts for the group. Former members told the Chldren's Court that the COG encouraged partner swapping and lesbianism, and that children are exposed regularly to sexual relations among adults. One former member said that she had a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old at his mother's request. The father in the current case argued that his children in the group will suffer emotional, physical, educational, and sexual damage if they remain under the sect' s control. (Melbourne Herald-Sun, 4/20, 24, 27/92) 2 Argentina: New Cult Education Group [Fundacion SPES] "Fundacion SPES" was established in Buenos Aires in June and dedicated to research and education on "pseudoreligious movements." The foundation says the Argentine public is only now becoming aware of the dangers such groups pose, "which day after day arise around us ." SPES, consisting in part of professionals from different fields concerned by the cult phenomenon, and claiming to be the first such agency in Latin America, has several departments, including documentation, public education, and counseling, the last including legal advice and rehabilitation as well as psychological counseling. (Cult Observer Report, 8/14/92) 3 Russia: Scientology The influx of U. S. religious groups into Russia includes the Church of Scientology which has built the L. Ron Hubbard Reading Room at Moscow State University. The facility is festooned with pictures of Hubbard and a large bust of "The Founder." The Scientologists plan to build their own college in the city. (Secular Humanist Bulletin, Summer 1992, 15) According to The Nation (6/22/92, 847), Moscow State University has also named a building after Hubbard, the first non-Russian author to be so honored, and awarded him, posthumously, an honorary Doctor of Literature degree. A large printing of Dianetics is to follow. 4 LaRoucheite Demonstration The "Moscow committee for the Liberation of Lyndon LaRouche" took part in a demonstration in front of the American Embassy asking, according to a sign held by the demonstrators, "Freedom for the American Political Prisoner Lyndon LaRouche and his comrades." A petition to the embassy said, "We in Russia understand particularly well how state security organs fabricate cases like (LaRouche' s), disguising political repressions as criminal investiga- tions... We believe that the case should be reconsidered." (The New Federalist, 6/6/92, 1) [The New Federalist is a LaRouche organization publication.] 5 Council of Europe: Checking Abusive Religions The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly in February adopted a recommendation to the member states concerning ways to check the evil done in the name of religion without violating freedom of conscience. The assembly sees no need for new laws, but it does feel that religious movements should be officially registered. This would help to clarify their nature and to prevent abuses. The data collected would also provide a useful starting-point for telling the public what these movements really are and what they really want. (From ~'Sects and cults -- from publicity to control," By Michel Amould, Forum, Religion, and Liberty, May 1992, 46-48) 6 France: Hare Krishnas' Decline `From "Fortunes and Misfortunes of Krishna Consciousness," Bulles (Association for Defense of the Individual and the Family, Paris), No. 31,1991 The Hare Krishnas [International Society for Krishna Consciousness/ISKCON] have declined in France. In order to understand both the fortunes and misfortunes here of this group -- a mercenary deviation from an authentic form of Indian Hinduism -- one must go back to the arrival in the West of the seers founder, Prabhupada. In 1965, this disciple of a Hindu sage brought to the West the spiritual riches of the the Bhagavad Gita, the Hindu holy book. Arriving in New York a poor man, he gave Bhakti Yoga classes to a number of hippies, created the journal Back to Godhead, which still exists, and founded ISKCON. The movement spread rapidly throughout the U.S. By 1980 there were 80 centers worldwide, with three in France. By the late '80s times were good in France for ISKCON, whose public image remained one of colorful processions and tinkling bells. Yet as early as 1974 reports from German police revealed odd trends: investigations established that an ISKCON center in that country was involved in questionable financial dealings and, in addition, maintained a stockpile of arms and ammunition, astonishing for an association that forbade all acts of violence. The trial that followed obliged a number of adepts to flee Germany for France where, in 1975, they bought a chateau at Indre, which became the group's headquarters in 1978. Prabhupada's teaching lasted only a few years. Sick and upset by the growing materialism of the ISKCON directors, he returned to India, where he died in 1977. Contrary to vedic tradition, the spiritual power, which was to be passed on to a single "Master," or "Bhagwan," was instead divided among eleven ISKCON leaders who anointed one another and assigned a territory to each; an American of German stock, William Erichmann, became leader in France. It was not long before devotees most attached to Prabhupada's teaching noted changes in the movement, and many quit at that time. Many original devotees, however, continued to lead ascetic lives, reciting with the same zeal the required daily chanting, and involving themselves in "sankirtan," sales to the public of the group's books, disks, and cassettes. An up- to-date press operated at the chateau while commercial activities kept the fax busy. ISKCON's apogee in France was a huge festival in 1982 initiating 250 new adepts and bringing the total in France to some 700. From then on, however, ISKCON was beseiged by families of individuals who had become involved in the group, and by public inquiries. At the ISKCON center in Ermenonville, citizens lobbied to counter the powerful influence the sect was gaining over the town council. Still, vegetarian restaurants, the sales of cosmetics and "Spiritual Sky" incense, and the begging of devotees, brought in substantial revenue. So much, that by 1984 serious tax problems arose and, after an investigation, ISKCON was required to pay almost 2 million francs to the sate. Following increased exposure in the press about IS KCON activities, the mayor of Ermenonville closed the chateau to visitors and shut off its electricity. Unable to pay off the debt, the guru-leader resigned and left discreetly for the U.S., taking the money he had withheld from the revenue department. Without a leader or financial means, many adepts asked their families for help. Others went to southern France, living as they could. At the center in Oublaisse, a hard core resisted the cold and despair in the chateau, without heat or light. Overseas, meanwhile, especially in the U. S., still more serious dramas were played out: numerous arrests and trials provoked by theft and even murders. What Lies Ahead? The reasons for ISKCON's rapid decline are only too evident. First, the very dubious choices of new "spiritual leaders ." Second, increased publicity given to the great spectacles called "Krishna devotions." Third, the high living and spending of the leaders, which became scandalous in view of the unceasing austerity faced by the followers. And finally, one must count the grave effects of Krishna membership on children and families, and the fate of a new generation of youngsters raised in the vise of ISKCON. Albeit the reentry of adepts into normal society poses difficult problems, we hope soon to see the end of ISKCON's harmful activities in France. The facility at Ermenonville was repossessed, in a sorry state, by its owner. The vegetarian restaurants were closed. The chateau d' Oublaisse was put up for sale, although it remained a shelter still for those who could find no other. It was finally sold in 1988 at less than half the asking price. At Noisy-le-Grand a small knot of faithful have revived their old ritual. The adepts, saying they want to regain the purity of the original teaching, offer courses in Bhakti Yoga and initiation to meditation. Are they sincere? In any case, their ragged leaflets point to terminal financial difficulties: ISKCON in France owes some 200 million francs, 80 million in taxes. In a May 1991 TV program, some 30 adepts, half children, were shown living a Spartan regimen at the chateau commune. The children's day runs from 4:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and they are taught at the group's own vedic school that their chief ambition should be to do sankirtan. ================================================================= DOS FILENAME OF TEXT FILE: CO0792AC.TXT DOS FILENAME OF IMAGE FILES: CO0792.TIF ADMINISTRATIVE CODE: OK SECURITY CODE: SCO DISTRIBUTION CODE: RO DESCRIPTION FOR BBS FILE LISTING: The Cult Observer, Vol. 9 No. 7, 1992. 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. This edition of the Cult Observer was produced by an electronic scanner, making it possible that a few scanning errors could have been introduced into the text inadvertently. Please consult the printed text if there are any suspected textual inaccuracies. FOREIGN STORIES | 1 Australia: Distress Over | Children of God [Flirty Fishing] | 2 Argentina: New Cult Education | Group [Fundacion SPES] | 3 Russia: Scientology | 4 LaRoucheite Demonstration | 5 Council of Europe: Checking | Abusive Religions | 6 France: Hare Krishnas' Decline For additional verification see the contributor of the document. UPDATED ON: 9/29/94 UPDATED BY: FrJMc =================================================================