CultNEWS101 Articles: 8/12/2025

Event, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Peru, Legal

Doomsday Comedy: The End is near - Come and laugh with us!

"Doomsday Comedy is a unique stand-up comedy show featuring comedians who grew up in religious fundamentalist communities — and now use humor to process their experiences.

These comedians share personal stories about growing up with doomsday warnings, strict religious rules, and the journey of leaving fundamentalism behind. Through laughter, they transform trauma into comedy and create a space for healing and connection. The shows also feature other types of comic material beyond religious themes."

 

RNS: Survivor of clergy sex abuse in Peru visits pope's hometown to call for more reforms

"A Peruvian survivor of clergy sex abuse brought her public campaign for reforms to the American hometown of Pope Leo XIV on Thursday, saying he failed in investigating her case when he was a bishop in her home country and needs to step up now as leader of the world's Catholics.

"I've been quiet since the pope has been elected," Ana María Quispe Díaz said in Spanish at a news conference in downtown Chicago. "But I'm not planning to be quiet forever."

She appeared with members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. The advocacy group sent a letter to the pope on Thursday renewing demands for more accountability on clergy sex abuse complaints and released documents related to Díaz's case."

Carol Merchasin: Head of Sexual Misconduct in Spiritual Communities Practice and Of Counsel

Carol Merchasin has been called "the Cult Assassin," the "Wonder Woman of taking down cults," "one of the United States' most feared legal eagles," and a "magnificent legal warrior."

Carol Merchasin brings her deep legal experience to McAllister Olivarius, heading up cases involving sexual misconduct in religious, faith-based and spiritual communities. As an investigator, she has worked to uncover sexual misconduct within the Shambhala International lineage of Buddhism, the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers, and is currently assisting other spiritual communities in bringing allegations of sexual misconduct to light. She has worked with survivors of abuse and misconduct across a number of global spiritual and religious movements and has extensive experience as both a litigator and an investigator.

Before joining McAllister Olivarius, Carol was a partner in the Philadelphia office of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius where she was a member of the firm's employment law practice and the director of Morgan Lewis Resources, providing training on harassment and discrimination as well as investigation services for clients. She has conducted dozens of workplace investigations and taught investigative techniques to human resource professionals at many Fortune 50 companies. She is based in New Jersey and is registered as an attorney with the Massachusetts Bar.

News, Education, Intervention, Recovery

‘Abuse cult’ priest received sexual massages ‘to relieve tension headaches’

Head of evangelical church movement from the 80s and 90s denies offences

Gabriella Swerling

Religious Affairs Editor

Telegraph 

August 4,  2025

A former priest accused of running an abusive cult received sexual massages to relieve “terrible tension headaches”, a court has heard.

Chris Brain, 68, led a group in the 1980s and 1990s in Sheffield called the Nine O’Clock Service (NOS), and was viewed by his alleged victims as a God-like “prophet” whom they “worshipped”.

The evangelical church movement drew crowds of hundreds of young people enticed by its “visually stunning” multimedia services featuring acid house rave music every Sunday at 9pm.

Mr Brain, of Wilmslow, Cheshire, is standing trial accused of committing sexual offences against 13 women. He denies one count of rape and 36 counts of indecent assault between 1981 and 1995.

At the opening of the trial in July, Tim Clark KC, prosecuting, told the court that Mr Brain ran “a cult”, surrounded by beautiful, lingerie-wearing women known as the “Lycra Nuns”, or “Lycra Lovelies”.

He said that Mr Brain used his position to abuse a “staggering number of women”.

Many of his victims were part of a “homebase team” tasked with cooking and cleaning for Mr Brain, as well as “putting him to bed” and giving him massages, which the court heard would often end in unsolicited groping.

Giving evidence at Inner London Crown Court on Monday, Mr Brain said he received back massages from a number of women in NOS.

Asked by defence counsel Iain Simkin KC how the massages began, he told the court that “it started off because I had terrible tension headaches”.

He referenced one member of the “homebase team” who gave him massages once or twice a week “and she could tell by touching me what the problem was”.

Mr Brain gestured to the court, lifting his arms above his head to show where he was in discomfort and why he required massaging.

“It was quite severe, I remember coming home and having to lie on the bed with my face on the pillow because the pain was so bad,” he said.

Asked whether there were occasions when the massages would develop into some form of sexual touching, Mr Brain replied: “With very close friends, it may edge towards that, but both parties knew it shouldn’t go there so one of us would pull back again and cool down.

“And we are talking about relationships over years and years… It worked having closeness with friends without having to involve close sexual contact, and of course, I was married.

He added: “With some of my closest friends it would be kissing sometimes, occasionally massaging, stroking. Anything more than that we would back off.”

‘Natural ecstasy’

Mr Brain told the court that NOS was “an evolving experiment” around at the “peak of the rave boom” and embraced “club culture” by creating “a natural ecstasy”.

As part of the “new New Age”, he added that there was a very laissez faire environment regarding “positive sexuality” as well as encouragement of “tantric celibacy”.

“It was normal to be physical,” he told the court. “This was the mid-80s early ’90s,” he said, adding that leggings and tight clothes were “the fashion”.

Regarding the clothes worn by female NOS members at the time, and asked if he prescribed the dress code for the “Lycra Lovelies”, Mr Brain responded: “All these people are completely clued-up and want to wear fashion.

“This is the mid-80s, everybody was obsessed with fashion and what they wore, it was a constant topic of conversation, but that does not mean I was obsessed with what people wore.”

Mr Simkin asked: “Looking back, do you accept you were some form of inspirational character?”

“That’s my thing, enthusiasm and ideas,” Mr Brain replied.

Jurors have previously heard how Mr Brain had his ordination licence “fast-tracked” in 1991 because Church of England officials viewed his organisation as “a success story”.

NOS evolved from holding services at St Thomas’s Church in the Crookes area of the city, before expanding as it grew increasingly popular to a larger premises at Ponds Forge in the city centre. It collapsed in 1995 amid accusations of a sex scandal.

Over the past five weeks, his alleged victims have given evidence describing NOS as full of “brainwashing”, “grooming”, “mind games” and abuse.

They claimed he told them that they “can’t be spiritual without being sexual”. The trial continues.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/08/04/abuse-cult-priest-sexual-massages-relieve-headaches-trial/

CultNEWS101 Articles: 2/4/2025 (Clergy Seual Abuse, India, Kumbh Festival, Sextortion)

Clergy Seual Abuse, India, Kumbh Festival, Sextortion

NCR: US watchdog launches database on Catholic priests accused of sex abuse of minors in the Philippines

A United States-based watchdog on Wednesday launched an online database on more than 80 Roman Catholic priests who have been accused of sexually abusing minors in the Philippines and said the silence of Filipino bishops on the crimes amounted to a cover-up.

The Philippines is the third-largest Roman Catholic nation in the world, and public discussions of sexual assaults by members of the clergy, who are revered especially in rural regions, has long been generally muted.

None of the 82 members of the clergy, including seven bishops, who have been included in the new online database on clergy sexual abuses by the group BishopAccountability.org had been convicted in any Philippine court.

The database featured their faces, names and details of their alleged sexual assaults on minors, some of which dated back more than two decades ago. The nonprofit said that it had also set up such online databases on Catholic clergy abuses in the U.S., Argentina, Chile and Ireland.

Anne Barrett Doyle, a director of BishopAccountability.org, said that the long silence of bishops in the Philippines encouraged such sexual assaults by members of the clergy. She asked Philippine prosecutors to investigate church officials, who failed to report abuses."

RNS: Police say at least 30 people have died in a stampede at the massive Maha Kumbh festival in India

"Indian authorities took more than 16 hours to release casualty figures, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi acknowledged the loss of lives, calling the incident "extremely sad" and extending his condolences.

At least 30 people were killed and many more injured in a stampede at the world's largest religious gathering early Wednesday, police said, as millions of pilgrims rushed to dip in sacred waters during the Maha Kumbh festival in northern India.

Police officer Vaibhav Krishna in Prayagraj city said another 60 injured were rushed to hospitals.

Wednesday was a sacred day in the six-week Hindu festival, and authorities expected a record 100 million devotees to engage in a ritual bath at the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers. Hindus believe that a dip at the holy site can cleanse them of past sins and end the process of reincarnation."

CNN: He lost his son to suicide after a 'sextortion' scam. The alleged scammer was just extradited to the US

 
South Carolina Rep. Brandon Guffey was overwhelmed with rage when he first saw the man he believes caused his son's suicide.

The suspect was extradited from Nigeria to the US over the weekend on charges that he targeted 17-year-old Gavin Guffey in a sexual extortion, or "sextortion" scheme, that led to the teen's death.

The Nigerian appeared in court in Columbia, South Carolina, on Monday, where Brandon Guffey laid eyes on him after more than two years of fighting for justice for his son.

"Rage is the best way to describe how I felt," Guffey told CNN. "I think I cracked molars just gritting my teeth so hard."

The man, Hassanbunhussein Abolore Lawal, 24, did not make eye contact with him, Guffey said. Lawal kept his head bowed and appeared to avoid looking in his family's direction, he said.

As part of a sextortion scheme, Lawal allegedly masqueraded as a young woman on social media and sent Gavin nude photos. He asked for similar images of himself, and once Gavin shared the photos, the suspect threatened to publicize them if he didn't pay, the Justice Department said.

He's pleaded not guilty to charges of child exploitation resulting in death, distribution of child sexual abuse material, coercion and enticement of a minor, cyberstalking, interstate threats with intent to extort and aiding/abetting, according to court records.

At Monday's hearing Guffey wore a black T-shirt with the love symbol <3. It represents the last text message Gavin sent loved ones on July 27, 2022, minutes before he shot himself in a bathroom at the family home in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

"I'm a roller coaster of emotions right now. I served in the house with a representative who lost his mother and sister in the Dylann Roof shootings down in Charleston. And those families were able to look at Dylann Roof and say, we forgive you,'" Guffey said.

"I want to ask … 'how do you have forgiveness in your heart?' Because I just don't have it. I have anger and vengeance. And every time I see my family's pain over this, it just infuriates me more."

The scammer threatened other family members after Gavin Guffey's death
The FBI arrested Lawal in Lagos last week following an extradition hearing. CNN has reached out to his court-appointed attorney for comment.

Guffey had to sign paperwork confirming he would not push for the death penalty to ensure that the Nigerian government approved the extradition, he said.

Last week, he was shocked to get a call from federal investigators notifying him that the extradition had been approved and they were on their way to pick up Lawal. Investigators confirmed his arrival in Columbia on Saturday.

"It was a surprise. I knew that they had been working on the process, but extradition was not something that commonly happens with Nigeria," Guffey said. "There was still that anticipation and fear until his feet were actually on US soil."

At a press conference, investigators declined to provide details on how they tracked the suspect to Nigeria or whether there were other suspects involved. Some of the court documents in the case are sealed."

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Kenyan Pastor Accused Of Multiple Sexual Abuses

Agence France Presse

September 3, 2024

A Kenyan pastor is being investigated for cult activities after allegations he and other church elders sexually abused a number of women and girls, police said.

The case came to light after the church run by Daniel Mururu in Meru county in central Kenya was torched by irate locals late last month.

Mururu, of the East African Pentecostal Churches of Kenya, as well as church elders and ushers, are accused of indecent assaults including stripping women naked, shaving their pubic hair and having sexual intercourse with them, according to a police report dated Monday.

More than seven women and girls ranging in age from 17 to 70 are alleged to have been assaulted, including a 17-year-old schoolgirl who became pregnant, the report said.

Police said their initial investigations had established that Mururu was "running a cult" that had radicalised its followers.

The church members were induced to engage "in indecent acts" for fear of consequences such as "sickness and barrenness" if they defied the pastor's orders, the police report said.

A devout largely Christian nation, Kenya has struggled to regulate unscrupulous churches and cults that dabble in criminality.

In a macabre case that shocked the world, the leader of a Kenyan doomsday starvation cult was arrested in April last year after bodies were found buried in mass graves.

Rescuers spent many months searching a remote scrubland inland from the Indian Ocean town of Malindi and have now unearthed a total of 448 bodies from the shallow graves.

Autopsies revealed that the majority of victims had died of hunger. But others, including children, appeared to have been strangled, beaten or suffocated.

The horrific saga dubbed the "Shakahola forest massacre" led the government to flag the need for tighter control of fringe denominations.

A commission set up by President William Ruto to investigate the deaths and review regulations governing religious bodies presented its report in July, calling for a hybrid model of self-regulation and government oversight.

https://www.barrons.com/articles/kenyan-pastor-accused-of-multiple-sexual-abuses-4dd1afb0

CultNEWS101 Articles: 7/18/2024 (Questions and Answers, Legal, Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, Kenya, Gateway Church, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Satanic Temple)

Questions and Answers, Legal, Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, Kenya, Gateway Church, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Satanic Temple

WIRED: Former Cult Member Answers Cult Questions From Twitter

"Dr. Janja Lalich, a sociologist who used to be in a cult, answers the internet's burning questions about cults. How did Charles Manson get a cult following? What's the best movie about cults? Why did everyone in the Heaven's Gate cult wear Nikes? How do people get brainwashed?"

Agence France-Presse in Mombasa: Kenyan cult leader goes on trial on terrorism charges over 400 deaths

"The leader of a Kenyan doomsday cult has gone on trial on charges of terrorism over the deaths of more than 400 of his followers in a macabre case that shocked the world.

The self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie appeared in court in the Indian Ocean port city of Mombasa along with 94 co-defendants.

Journalists were removed from the courtroom shortly after the start of the hearing to enable a protected witness to take the stand.

Mackenzie, who was arrested in April last year, is alleged to have incited his acolytes to starve to death in order to "meet Jesus".

He and his co-accused all pleaded not guilty to the charges of terrorism at a hearing in January.

They also face charges of murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, and child torture and cruelty in separate cases.

The remains of more than 440 people have been unearthed so far in a remote wilderness inland from the Indian Ocean coastal town of Malindi, in a case that has been dubbed the "Shakahola forest massacre".

Autopsies have found that while starvation appeared to be the main cause of death, some of the victims – including children – were strangled, beaten or suffocated.

Previous court documents also said that some of the bodies had had their organs removed."

The Roys Report: Gateway Church Settled Lawsuit Claiming Multiple Pastors Covered Up Sexual Assault of a Minor

"Dallas megachurch Gateway Church recently settled a lawsuit that accused several church leaders of concealing the sexual assault of a girl who attended the church.

The suit was settled in April, just months before Gateway Church founder Robert Morris resigned over the bombshell allegations that he sexually abused Cindy Clemishire when she was 12 years old in 1982.

The initial lawsuit, filed in Tarrant County Texas in 2020, claims that five pastors and a youth leader were aware that a member of the church assaulted the girl in 2018, when she would have been less than 12 years old. She was not yet 18 when the suit was settled this spring.

However, the leaders concealed this from the victim's mother and failed to report it to local authorities, according to the lawsuit.

The church leaders "collectively and independently engaged in a concerted effort to conceal the sexual assault accusations" to "subvert the accusations and avoid criminal investigation," according to the lawsuit."

Bang Premiere: Dan Reynolds gave up Mormonism as he thinks religion was 'harmful'

"The Imagine Dragons rocker, 36, was raised in what he says was a "really conservative" Mormon household and served a two-year Mormon mission in Omaha, Nebraska – but it has been several years since he quit his worship and he's now spoken out to slam aspects of the church.

He told People: "There's obviously parts of the Mormon religion that I feel pretty strongly are harmful, especially to our gay youth.

"At times I feel pretty isolated from my family, but I also love them and am close to them and see them, and there's no animosity there.

"I'm on a different path. I have to love myself enough to follow my truth."

Dan founded the LOVELOUD Foundation in 2018 in support of the young LGBTQ+ community and added he has "always struggled" with religion.

He added he spent his 20s and early 30s "really angry" at religion, as he felt he'd been "duped" by the Mormon church.

Dan said: "I saw a lot of the harm that came from it for me personally, but it also seemed to work incredibly well for my family, and they're all healthy, happy individuals.

"As I've gotten older, I'm not angry about it anymore. If something works for someone, that's really wonderful and rare, and I don't want to mess with it."

Dan has chosen not to raise the four children he has with his ex-wife Aja Volkman – daughters Arrow, 11, Gia and Coco, 7, and son Valentine, four – in the church, as he does not want to play with how their minds work.

He said: "My greatest goal every day is to not manipulate my kids. I really don't want to try to tell them what their spiritual path should be."

The Guardian: Satanists to volunteer in Florida schools in protest at DeSantis religious bill

Satanic Temple objects to the governor's push for more religion in schools and says members could act as student chaplains.

" ... Members of the Satanic Temple say they are poised to act as volunteer chaplains under a state law that took effect this week opening campuses to "additional counseling and support to students" from outside organizations.

Although HB 931 leaves the implementation of chaplain programs to individual school districts, and only requires schools to list a volunteer's religion "if any", DeSantis has made clear its intent is to restore the tenets of Christianity to public education.

Without the bill, DeSantis said at its signing in April: "You're basically saying that God has no place [on campus]. That's wrong."

The satanists see the law, which comes amid a vigorous theocratic drive into education by the religious right nationally, as an equal opportunity: if Christian chaplains are permitted access to students, often at the most vulnerable and impressionable stages of their lives, then so are they.

There are, however, no plans to introduce studies of the dark arts or satanic rituals to any classroom. The Satanic Temple champions Satan not as a literal, omnipresent demon, but as a symbol of rebellion and resistance to authoritarianism. It says its strategy here is to highlight flagrant violations of the constitutionally protected separation of church and state."

Mamamia: At 11, Joe Dageforde escaped from a notorious cult. The reason why is horrifying.

"Joe Dageforde's Canadian father was living in Australia, busking on the streets, when he met Joe's mum.

He invited her to a barbecue, run by his church group called, The Children of God. At the time, they were feeling disenchanted with the world and were desperately seeking a sense of belonging. They found it within the church.

That barbecue set the tone for Joe's life, and the life of his siblings, all of whom were born as active members of the church."

" ... The family was constantly moving, but always within the confines of the church, a global operation that still exists to this day.

"We lived in a caravan for a couple of years, communes, even in a tent for a while."

By the time he was 12, Joe had lived in 52 different locations. Each location had one thing in common though. They were cut off from the outside world."

" ... While the church painted a picture of devotion to God and each other, the reality was a sinister world dominated by physical and sexual abuse.

Joe says physical abuse was constant, with beatings and other punishments able to be administered by any adult who lived within the home.

"You could be punished for things as slight as running down the stairs, laughing too loud, being foolish, playing too energetically, not doing what you were asked to do immediately or to the standard deemed fit.

"If something happened and one of the kids wouldn't fess up, we could all be lined up and hit with fly swats, wooden spoons, paddles, bamboo, belts, anything. Sometimes the welts and marks left from spankings had to be covered up with longer clothing, even in summer, when we went out busking and fundraising. We lived in fear and constantly tread on eggshells."

Then, there was the sexual abuse, perpetrated under the guise of 'showing love' as instructed by God. "

News, Education, Intervention, Recovery

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CultNEWS101 Articles: 5/10/2024 (Geelong Revival Centre, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Transcendental Meditation, Legal, Religious Freedom)

Geelong Revival Centre, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Transcendental Meditation, Legal, Religious Freedom

Geelong Advertiser: Geelong Revival Centre church leader Noel Hollins receiving medical treatment as leadership change looms

"Leadership changes loom at a shadowy, ultra-conservative Geelong church as former members hit out at the contradictory behaviour of its long-serving pastor.

A controversial Pentecostal Geelong church described by some as a "cult" is facing a forced leadership change, with its 93-year-old founder and long-term leader gravely ill, according to multiple sources."

RNS: Why faith-based groups are prone to sexual abuse and how they can get ahead of it

As Sexual Assault Awareness Month comes to a close, there are a few steps experts say every faith group can take to improve safeguarding protocols.

" .. With more victims coming forward and more research done on abuse within religious contexts, the evidence has shown that when sexual abuse happens in a place designated not only safe, but holy, it's a unique form of betrayal — and when the perpetrator is a clergy member or spiritual leader, the abuse can be seen as God-endorsed.

As the scope of this crisis has been revealed, houses of worship and religious institutions — from Southern Baptists to Orthodox Jews to American atheists — have looked to shore up their safeguarding protocols and protect their constituents against abuse.

But rather than scrambling to respond in the wake of a crisis, faith groups need to adopt policies tailored to their setting and connected to their mission, says Kathleen McChesney, who was the first executive director of the Office of Child Protection for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops."

LifeSite: Christian student gets $150k judgement in lawsuit stating she was forced to participate in Hindu rituals at Chicago school

"A high school student recently obtained a judgment in the amount of $150,000 that was entered in her favor and against the Chicago school system, which forced her to participate in Hindu practices, amounting to idolatry in violation of her Christian beliefs.

The Board of Education of Chicago, the University of Chicago, and the David Lynch Foundation were sued by Mariyah Green, a former student at Bogan High School, for mandating student participation in Hindu rituals, despite conflicting religious beliefs. She was granted a $150,000 judgement on October 23 by the clerk of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Bogan students were required to participate in a program titled "Quiet Time," which consisted of two 15-minute periods each day dedicated to the practice of "transcendental meditation" (TM), which was popularized by Hindu guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and involves concepts used in Hinduism, such as mantras.

Green, a 2020 high school graduate, told LifeSiteNews in a phone interview that in addition to the 15-minute periods of "meditation" each day, the school sponsored a three-day class to teach students "the way that they want you to meditate."

During the 2018-2019 school year, Green attended the first day of this three-day lesson, which she described as "very uncomfortable." Students came into a "completely dark" classroom with "curtains closed [and] candles around the picture of [a] man," which had been placed on a table in front of them.  

"I was actually scared for a moment, like, what is going on? Why are the lights off? Why do the candles light the man? Of course, the picture kind of threw me off because it wasn't [anything] that I had ever seen."

Additionally, Green and her peers were instructed to "repeat a mantra" that they were told to keep "to yourself." After the first day, Green told LifeSiteNews that she was able to opt out of future participation in the three-day lessons by avoiding going to the class, but not the 15-minute periods each day.

Aside from teachers casually asking when she would be returning to the class, she didn't receive backlash for opting out of the lessons. She described them as "nice people, but it was against my religion."

On the other hand, the "very mandatory" 15-minute slots designated for TM were linked to student grades, leaving Green feeling obligated to participate so she wouldn't lose the academic standards required for her to play basketball at the school. During these times, Green said she "didn't do it their way" and "didn't keep the mantra in my head," instead closing her eyes so it "looked like I was meditating" to receive the participation credit."

" ... Over the past few years, multiple lawsuits have been filed against DLF accusing the organization of being aware of TM's link to Hinduism and enforcing the practice of worshipping idols rather than allowing students to read or rest during the 15-minute 'quiet time."'"

LifeSite: Student reportedly forced into Hindu rituals at Chicago school granted class action status

"A former Chicago public school student alleges that her school coerced her into Transcendental Meditation and Hindu practices, including a ritual invoking pagan gods, as part of a program run by the David Lynch Foundation.

A petition for class action status by a former Chicago Public School student, Kaya Hudgins, who alleged that her school coerced her to participate in Transcendental Meditation (TM) and Hindu practices has been granted by a federal judge in a lawsuit against the Board of Education of the City of Chicago and the David Lynch Foundation. Attorneys at Mauck & Baker, representing Kaya Hudgins, received an order from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois awarding class certification to Hudgins and her peers.

The class action lawsuit alleges that while minor students were attending certain Chicago Public Schools that chose to participate in the David Lynch Foundation "Quiet Time" program, they were required to participate in Transcendental Meditation that incorporated Hindu religious rituals, which Hudgins claims on behalf of the class is an egregious violation of their constitutional rights."

" ... Hudgins, by her own declaration, was made to take part in Quiet Time.

"A Chicago Public Schools teacher told me and my entire class to sign a consent form to participate in Quiet Time," Hudgins wrote. "My entire class and I signed the consent because we felt pressure to sign. Our teacher told us that we would get in trouble and be sent to the dean if we did not consent. The teacher also told us that not signing the consent would affect our academics. We also received the same kind of pressure to participate in the Quiet Time program on a regular basis."

Hudgins was 16 years old at the time.

"Additionally, I, like many of my classmates, signed a nondisclosure not to tell anyone, including our parents, about the program," added Hudgins. "My classmates and I were particularly warned by a David Lynch Foundation representative not to tell our parents if our parents were 'religious.'"

"Not only were these minor school children coerced by Chicago Public School teacher into signing a document they had no business signing," shared John Mauck, a partner at Mauck and Baker, 'They were duped into practicing Hindu rituals and Transcendental Meditation during class time and instructed to hide their mandated participation in them from their parents.'"

News, Education, Intervention, Recovery

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CultNEWS101 Articles: 3/28/2024 (Clergy Sexual Abuse, Conversion Therapy, Book, Transcendental Meditation, Ishmael Chokurongerwa, Apostolic Church, Zimbabwe, Child Abuse, Angola, Legal, Witchcraft, Hillsong)

Clergy Sexual Abuse, Conversion Therapy, Book, Transcendental Meditation, Ishmael Chokurongerwa, Apostolic Church, Zimbabwe, Child Abuse, Angola, Legal, Witchcraft, Hillsong

AP: Former Mormon bishop highlighted in AP investigation arrested on felony child sex abuse charges

"A former bishop in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who was featured in an Associated Press investigation into how the church protects itself from allegations of sexual abuse was arrested by police in Virginia this week after being indicted on charges he sexually abused his daughter while accompanying her on a school trip when she was a child, according to court filings.

Police and federal authorities had been searching for John Goodrich after a grand jury in Williamsburg on Jan. 17 found probable cause that he committed four felonies, including rape by force, threat or intimidation, forcible sodomy, and two counts of felony aggravated sexual battery by a parent of a child.

Those charges were filed weeks after the AP investigation revealed how a representative of the church, widely known as the Mormon church, employed a risk management playbook that has helped it keep child sexual abuse cases secret after allegations surfaced that Goodrich abused his daughter Chelsea, now in her 30s, at their home in Idaho as well as on a school field trip to the Washington, D.C., area 20 years ago."

University of California Press: Demons in San Francisco Bay: How a Street Preacher Launched Modern-Day "Conversion Therapy"

"In 1967, street minister Kent Philpott began outreach to lesbian, gay, and bisexual hippies in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco. Over the next decade, he counseled those who purportedly wanted out of what he referred to as "the gay lifestyle," combining charismatic religious beliefs in demons, divine healing, and glossolalia with psychological theories on gender and child development. This article examines Philpott's efforts to provide the nascent "ex-gay movement" with cultural, social, and intellectual foundations. This article specifically documents how sexual liberation, hippie culture, and conservative religion converged in San Francisco and spawned the "ex-gay movement." Philpott, swept up by the Jesus People Movement, incorporated religious and psychological beliefs prominent in the Bay Area and infused charismatic Christian influences and traditional understandings of masculinity and femininity into the 'ex-gay movement.'"

Christopher Publishing House: TM And Cult Mania, by Michael Persinger

"TM and Cult Mania is a non-fiction book that examines assertions made by the Transcendental Meditation movement (TM). The book is authored by Michael Persinger, Normand Carrey and Lynn Suess and published in 1980 by Christopher Publishing House."

"TM and Cult Mania analyzes the efficacy or lack thereof of the TM meditation process, concluding that it is, "no more effective than many other meditation techniques". The authors write that, "Transcendental Meditation has achieved international recognition through commercial exploitation" and "poor scientific procedures". The book notes that physiological changes observed due to partaking in TM methodology are very small.[9] Persinger, Carrey, and Suess conclude in TM and Cult Mania, "science has been used as a sham for propaganda by the TM movement."

A positive capsule review in the Los Angeles Times noted that the authors use logic to point out transparencies in the assertions of Transcendental Meditation. John Horgan, in his book Rational Mysticism, questions Persinger's neutrality and says that in his book he treats religious beliefs and spiritual practices as mental illness."

"TM and Cult Mania takes a look at the assertions made by the Transcendental Meditation movement and analyzes them from a scientific perspective. The book acknowledges that those who practice the Transcendental Meditation technique feel relaxed and experience an increase in creativity. According to the book, the physiological effects reported by the scientific studies on Transcendental Meditation are relatively small from a scientific perspective and "no more effective than many other meditation techniques". Transcendental Meditation is seen as most noteworthy due to its ability to manipulate stress and expectancy.

"Transcendental Meditation has achieved international recognition through commercial exploitation" and "poor scientific procedures", write the authors. The book notes, "Frankly, the reported effects of TM upon human behavior are trivial. Considering the alleged potency of the TM procedure, the changes in physiological and behavioral measures are conspicuously minute." TM and Cult Mania comes to the conclusion that, "science has been used as a sham for propaganda by the TM movement."

AP: Zimbabwe police rescue 251 children used as labor and find graves in religious sect compound raid

"Zimbabwe police on Wednesday said they have arrested a man claiming to be a prophet of an apostolic sect at a shrine where believers stay in a compound and authorities found 16 unregistered graves, including those of infants, and more than 250 children used as cheap labor.

In a statement, police spokesman Paul Nyathi said Ishmael Chokurongerwa, 56, a "self-styled" prophet, led a sect with more than 1,000 members at a farm about 34 kilometers (21 miles) north-west of the capital, Harare, where the children were staying alongside other believers.

The children were being used to perform various physical activities for the benefit of the sect's leadership," he said. Of the 251 children, 246 had no birth certificates.

"Police established that all children of school-going age did not attend formal education and were subjected to abuse as cheap labor, doing manual work in the name of being taught life skills," said Nyathi.

Police said among the graves they found were those of seven infants whose burials were not registered with authorities.

He said police officers raided the shrine on Tuesday. Chokurongerwa, who called himself the Prophet Ishmael, was arrested together with seven of his aides 'for criminal activities which include abuse of minors.'"

CBS: 50 killed in anti-sorcery rituals after being forced to drink "mysterious liquid," Angola officials say

"About 50 people have died in Angola after being forced to drink an herbal potion to prove they were not sorcerers, police and local officials said Thursday. The deaths occurred between January and February near the central town of Camacupa, according to Luzia Filemone, a local councilor.

Police confirmed that 50 people had died.  

Speaking to Angola National Radio broadcaster, Filemone accused traditional healers of administering the deadly concoction.

"More than 50 victims were forced to drink this mysterious liquid which, according to traditional healers, proves whether or not a person practices witchcraft," she said.

Belief in witchcraft is still common in some rural Angolan communities despite strong opposition from the church in the predominantly Catholic former Portuguese colony."

The Post: Mine is the Kingdom: How the Hillsong megachurch empire fell apart

"Investigative journalist David Hardaker's new book, Mine is the Kingdom, tells the explosive story of how Brian Houston's family went from humble Kiwi origins to run one of the world's largest megachurches. This extract reveals how their empire started falling apart."

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CultNEWS101 Articles: 3/27/2024 (Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Gloriavale, Docuseries, New Zealand, Scientology, Legal, Apollo Quiboloy, Philippines)

Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Clergy Sexual Abuse, Gloriavale, Docuseries, New Zealand, Scientology, Legal, Apollo Quiboloy, Philippines

WSBTV: Dozens allege child sexual abuse in Maryland treatment program under newly filed lawsuits

"More than three dozen people allege in two lawsuits filed Tuesday that they were sexually abused as children at a Maryland residential program for youths that closed in 2017 following similar allegations.

In the separate lawsuits, attorneys detailed decades of alleged abuse of children by staff members of the Good Shepherd Services behavioral health treatment center, which had billed itself as a therapeutic, supportive environment for Maryland's most vulnerable youth.

The program was founded in 1864 by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, a Catholic religious order focused on helping women and girls. It began at a facility in Baltimore before moving to its most recent campus just outside the city.

Many of the plaintiffs — almost all of them women — reported being injected with sedatives that made it more difficult for them to resist the abuse. Others said their abusers, including nuns and priests employed by the center, bribed them with food and gifts or threatened them with violence and loss of privileges.

The claims were filed against the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services and Department of Human Services, agencies that contracted with Good Shepherd and referred children there for treatment. The lawsuits also named the state Department of Health, which was tasked with overseeing residential facilities. The Sisters of the Good Shepherd religious order wasn't a named defendant in either suit.

In a joint statement Tuesday afternoon, the three state agencies said they had not yet been served with the court papers.

"However, the Departments of Health, Human Services and Juvenile Services work to ensure the safety and well-being of all children and youth placed in state care. We take allegations of sexual abuse of children in our care seriously," the statement said.

Many of the children referred to Good Shepherd were in foster care or involved in the state's juvenile justice system.

"The state of Maryland sent the most vulnerable children in its care to this facility and then failed to protect them," said Jerome Block, an attorney representing 13 plaintiffs in one of the lawsuits filed Tuesday."

Stuff: Documentary series Escaping Utopia to reveal how former residents fled Gloriavale

"Every person who has left Gloriavale has family or loved ones still inside. That's a fact. And the majority of them want to do something to help. There is a resistance movement growing as more people leave and they all want to do their bit to expose the truth about life inside Gloriavale.

We met dozens of leavers in the course of making this documentary and could have cast it many, many times over with all the warm, smart, perceptive people we met. We are absolutely thrilled with the cast we landed with and can't wait for New Zealanders to have their misconceptions about what people from Gloriavale are like totally turned upside down.

The Gloriavale Leavers' Support Trust estimates they have helped about 200 people leave in the past 10 years – but to put that in perspective, the average Gloriavale family has about 12 children. There are about 600 people still living inside Gloriavale – about 350 of them are children – so there are still more people living inside than out.

There is a growing resistance movement on the outside that casually call themselves the 'Underground Network'. These are neighbours, former members, lawyers, media and just members of the public that want to help. To leave Gloriavale is much like being a refugee – most don't have bank accounts, drivers' licences, passports.

Many have never even handled money, never caught a bus. One of our contributors had only ever been to Greymouth a handful of times in her life for dental appointments – that was her only tiny window to the outside world, so she had never seen phones or ATMs or escalators.

She had never had her hair cut, worn anything but her uniform from birth, hadn't even been to the supermarket. So to say leaving is difficult is a huge understatement.

Add to that the psychological barriers they have – they are raised to believe that leaving means eternal damnation which is a fate worse than death. So the process of leaving can take many years."

Scoop: Press Release from TVNZ

New Zealand's most extreme religious cult, Gloriavale, and the true stories of people attempting to break free, are the subject of a brand-new docuseries – Escaping Utopia – screening this March on TVNZ.

In a worldwide premiere, screening across three captivating nights, Escaping Utopia documents the intricate planning that goes into clandestine escapes from Gloriavale – with unprecedented access to its inner workings, the unravelling of its leadership and the pursuit of justice by the group of passionate and dedicated people known as The Gloriavale Leavers' Support Trust.

Shocking new information is revealed from former and current members of the community who have never gone on the record before – and who through their accounts, seek answers to some of the most crucial questions in the dark history of Gloriavale.

The three-part investigation premieres Sunday 24 March, 8.30pm on TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+ and continues Tuesday 25 and Wednesday 26.

Escaping Utopia is produced by Warner Bros. International Television Production New Zealand in association with the New Zealand Government's Premium Productions for International Audiences Fund and made with the support of NZ on Air. The series is directed by Natalie Malcon and Justin Pemberton, with Philippa Rennie as Executive Producer.

Courthouse News: Judge guts Leah Remini's harassment lawsuit against Church of Scientology

"Leah Remini's lawsuit against the Church of Scientology for defamation and harassment will survive, though only just, after an LA Superior Court judge struck down the majority of the actress' complaint on Tuesday.

Church of Scientology spokesperson Karin Pouw called the ruling "a resounding victory for the Church and free speech," adding in an email, "the Church is entitled to its attorney fees and will be seeking them."

Remini, who gained fame as a co-star on the sitcom "King of Queens," was a member of the Church of Scientology for more than 35 years, starting at the age of eight. She estimates to have spent more than $5 million on classes, services and donations to the organization. When she broke with Scientology in 2013, she soon became one of the church's most vocal critics, largely through a memoir, "Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology," and a TV docuseries, "Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath."

The church responded to Remini in kind, producing a slew of videos and articles attacking her as a racist and bigot, suggesting that she had inspired hate crimes against Scientologists. The headline of one article read, "As the World Remembers the Holocaust, Bigot Leah Remini Inspires Praise of Hitler."

In August 2023, Remini filed a suit accusing the church of orchestrating a vicious online campaign against her, where she said, "for the past ten years, Ms. Remini has been stalked, surveilled, harassed, threatened, intimidated, and, moreover, has been the victim of intentional malicious and fraudulent rumors via hundreds of Scientology-controlled and -coordinated social media accounts that exist solely to intimidate and spread misinformation."

Remini also accused the church of having her followed and surveilled by private detectives.

The church filed an anti-SLAPP motion — a legal maneuver used to quickly throw out suits that are meant to discourage free speech or public participation — arguing that the church and its members were simply fighting Remini's "hate speech" with their own speech. As for surveilling Remini, the church said that was part of its "pre-litigation stance" in anticipation of Remini's lawsuit.

In his 37-page ruling, Superior Court Judge Randolph Hammock agreed to strike more than a dozen paragraphs of Remini's complaint as untimely, finding that those claims took place before Aug. 2, 2022 and it was too late to sue over them. The judge also struck down most of the defamation claims, finding that most of them were not false assertions of fact."

Philstar: Looming arrest for Quiboloy as Senate won't shield 'Son of God'

"Defenders of controversial preacher Apollo Quiboloy at the Senate have failed to muster enough signatures to block the contempt order against him, placing the self-claimed "Son of God" at the mercy of looming arrest if he does not respond to a show cause order within 48 hours.

Quiboloy's Senate defense crumbled on Tuesday after only five senators signed the written objection to the contempt order against the Kingdom of Jesus Christ founder, Sen. Robin Padilla said. This is three signatures short of the eight required to overturn the contempt ruling."

" ... Quiboloy has been cited for contempt by two committees at the House and the Senate for his continued refusal to personally appear in hearings concerning his actions as KOJC leader and founder of KOJC's media partner, SMNI.

The Senate women and gender equality committee is currently investigating the sexual crimes allegedly committed by Quiboloy and other KOJC leaders, while the House legislative franchises committee is deliberating on a bill that seeks to cancel the legislative franchise of SMNI after it allegedly aired content that violates its franchise terms."

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Intervention101.com to help families and friends understand and effectively respond to the complexity of a loved one's cult involvement.

CultRecovery101.com assists group members and their families make the sometimes difficult transition from coercion to renewed individual choice.

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