Volume 1, Number 5, 2002

Table of Contents

1. AFF Conference

2. Cultic Studies Review

3. News Items: Scientology, Unification Church,Tvind/Humana

4. Education and Research News

5. Books and Articles Brought to Our Attention

6. Please Donate

    

    

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AFF Conference

AFF’s 2002 annual conference will take place June 14-15 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Orlando Airport.  Preconference workshops for former group members, family members, and mental health professionals will be given on Thursday June 13th.

Approximately 200 people are expected to attend, including participants from Australia, China, Japan, Mexico, Canada, and several European countries.  The conference contains a rich program of research and assistance-oriented talks -- registration information.

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Cultic Studies Review

The inaugural issue of Cultic Studies Review (CSR) was mailed in April.  CSR mergers and expands AFF’s former periodicals, Cultic Studies Journal and Cult Observer.  If you are a subscriber to either or both of those periodicals and did not receive Volume 1, Number 1 of CSR, please contact AFF and we will look into the matter (aff@affcultinfoserve.com).  Subscribe.

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News Items

Scientology

The Church of Scientology handed over $8.6 million to resolve the lawsuit of a former member who charged that the controversial church caused him to develop bipolar disorder and nearly drove him to suicide.

The payment came nearly 22 years after Lawrence Wollersheim, 53, filed his 1980 suit, and nearly 16 years after a California jury awarded him $30 million. In the intervening years, the award was reduced on appeal to $2.5 million and went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it was upheld in 1994. Meanwhile, the $2.5 million collected 10% interest and eventually grew to $8,674,843.

Church officials said they paid the money because they wanted to put the matter behind them. But critics of Scientology hailed the payment as a momentous event. “This is an absolute watershed,” said Arnie Lerma, 52, an ex-Scientologist who manages a Web site devoted to critiquing the religion. Lerma said he hopes the award will convince other ex-Scientologists to file their own lawsuits.

Unification Church

Brazilian Federal police have carried out a series of raids, seizing documents and computers linked to Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s organization in Brazil. The raids, which occurred simultaneously at several sites in Sao Paulo and far western Mato Grosso do Sul states, were part of a broad investigation into allegations of tax evasion and immigration violations by Moon’s organization, federal police said.

Tvind/Humana

The FBI in February arrested Moses Amdi Peterson on charges of tax fraud and embezzlement of millions of dollars from a vast international network of charities and for-profit companies apparently controlled by the Humana (or Tvind) organization, which he founded. Peterson was awaiting extradition to Denmark as of this report.

His arrest is part of an international tale of charity and profit that involves a group of activists so secretive and dedicated that some governments have classified them as a cult. ''They are in operation all over Europe and they are very active in the U.S., especially on the East Coast,'' said Poul Gode, a deputy prosecutor in Denmark's Division of Serious Economic Crimes, part of the Justice Ministry.

More news on these stories and many other stories forthcoming in the next issue of Cultic Studies Review.

Education and Research News

CSR Getting Help Column

We thank those of you who responded to this request last issue.  However, we would like to collect many questions so that we can do some long-range planning for the Getting Help column.  So please consider responding to the following:

Cultic Studies Review would like to publish columns offering practical advice to former group members, family members, and helping professionals.  Please send in specific questions that you would like to see experts answer.  Identities of questioners will be kept confidential.  Thank you.

Meadow Haven Opens

On May 25th, Rev. Robert Pardon and his colleagues at the New England Institute of Religious Research celebrated a luncheon benefit banquet to mark NEIRR’s tenth anniversary the grand opening of Meadow Haven, a residential facility for former group members.  Only the second such facility in the United States (Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center in Ohio is the other), Meadow Haven’s “is a place of refuge for former members of abusive religious groups to come and heal.  It is a home for these wounded people where they can have the time and support (3-6 months) to begin to put their lives back together.”  Although the program is tailored to the needs of the individual, the program includes three tracks: thought reform/mind control; life skills; and spiritual.  For more information, go to www.neirr.org.

Free Minds (MN) Going “Dormant”

Teresa A. Kelly, past president of Free Minds Inc. wrote:

It is with regret that I announce that Free Minds is planning to go dormant at this time.  We will maintain the name and continue with website and e-mail services only.  For the past three years a considerable amount of effort has been invested in trying to recruit new volunteers and serve a larger audience, yet Free Minds continues to exist due to the dedication of about eight people (with the financial support of others).  The posts of Treasurer and President were left unfilled at the annual election in April, and this was the final catalyst for the board’s decision.

We have found that with the advent of the Internet, information about cults is readily available, thus one of the main purposes of Free Minds is able to be met much more efficiently.  There are still volunteers who are willing to speak in public forums or to families, and the website will continue to list local resources, but on July 31, the Board plans to discontinue the phone line and the mailing address.

Money is not the problem, volunteer hours are!  The current volunteers are “burned out,” with each having spent the last 10-20 years devoting much of their time to Free Minds.

If you have questions or comments, please send them to the Board at freeminds@qwest.net.

The dedicated volunteers at Free Minds did a superb job helping AFF organize and run its 1999 annual conference in Minneapolis-St. Paul.  We regret their scaling back, but hope that their focus on the Web will enable them to sustain their dedication to the cause they have served so well for so many years.

Shirley Siegel, R.I.P.

AFF is sad to learn of the death of Shirley Siegel on December 9th of last year.  Ms. Siegel was for many years a spokesperson for individuals exploited by abusive counselors and psychotherapists.  She was the founder/coordinator of Stop Abuse by Counselors, a client/advocate organization based in Seattle, WA, and author of What To Do When Psychotherapy Goes Wrong.  AFF published her essay, “Manipulative Therapists” in the Cult Observer.  Let us know if you would like us to e-mail you a copy of this fine essay, which will be posted on our Web site in the coming months.

Marcia Rudin

On Wednesday, April 24th Marcia Rudin gave the keyote address, "What We Don't know CAN Hurt Us," at the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation's Educational Summit in Baltimore, MD.  The program was co-sponsored by Jews for Judaism and Center for Jewish Education in Baltimore.

New Support Group in Atlanta

Erika Van Meir tells us that she and a former member of a political cult “are starting a free support group in Atlanta for former cult members.  We will have a monthly meeting, to be held in my therapy office, and it will be on-going. Members can also partake in individual therapy with me, for a fee, or can receive a referral to another therapist who has knowledge about cults and the recovery process. For more information, and to schedule a preliminary interview, prospective members may contact me by e-mail or phone, at 770-660-0229.  Also, depending on demand, we may consider conducting a group for family members of cult members as well.”  Information on Ms. Van Meir can be found at: http://www.therapistlocator.net

May 11th Workshop in Madison

On May 11th Rev. Fr. John-Brian Paprock, an ordained Malankara Orthodox priest, gave a workshop, “New Religious Movements, Marginal Religious Movements, Cults and Interfaith Work,” at St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church in Madison, Wisconsin.  Rev. Paprock is director of  Inroads Interfaith Ministry and International Society of Interfaith Ambassadors (inroads@angelfire.com).

Steve Hassan

Steve Hassan, M.Ed., LMHC, Director of Freedom of Mind Resource Center, Inc. in Somerville, Massachusetts, was granted last year Affiliate in Clinical Psychology status at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts.  This status affords him staff privileges to work with cult mind control patients who require temporary inpatient care.  Steve will also give a talk on terrorism at the American Psychological Association convention in San Francisco this coming August.

Books and Articles Brought to Our Attention

Warren Adler Publishes New Cult Book

Warren Adler, author of The War of the Roses and father of one of AFF’s founding directors, has published, Cult: A Novel of Brainwashing and Death.  For more information go to: www.warrenadler.com/index.shtml

Emotional Incest in Group Training

This is the title of an article in the April 2002 issue of the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy.  According to Stephan Betz, Ph.D. (DSBETZ@aol.com) the article makes therapists aware of group abuse.

Cracks in the Mirror

Rickey Pitman, a leader in the Boston Movement from 1986 to 1990, has published an e-book of poetry, “Cracks in the Mirror: Reflections of One Man’s Experiences in and With the International Church of Christ, Formerly Known as the Boston Movement.”  http://www.rickeypittman.com/cracks.htm

Sexual Abuse Treatment: Status of the Research

The Virginia Child Protection Newsletter (Winter 2002), edited by Joann Grayson, Ph.D. and sponsored by the Child Protective Services Unit of the Virginia Department of Social Services, contains a review of the research literature on sexual abuse treatment.  The article looks at how sexual abuse impacts children, assessment, and interventions.  VCPN is on the Web at: http://cep.jmu.edu/graysojh/vcpn_home.htm

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