Quebec's labour watchdog investigating Church of Scientology after Radio-Canada report on low salaries

Church of Scientology staffer in Quebec City earned $70 for nearly 39 hours of work, document shows

CBC News
June 14, 2018

Quebec's labour standards board has opened an investigation into working conditions at a branch of the Church of Scientology in Quebec City.

The investigation follows a report by Radio-Canada's investigative news program, Enquête, which revealed some of the organization's staff in Quebec City were being paid salaries well below minimum wage.

Geneviève Trudel, a spokesperson for the Commission des normes du travail (CNESST), said the board is looking into the situation.

She didn't provide any details on what exact steps might be taken, however, because the investigation is ongoing.

Under Article 105 of the Act Respecting Labour Standards, the province's labour laws, the CNESST doesn't need a complaint to be filed before it can launch an investigation, Trudel told Radio-Canada in an email.

The organization "holds that power in relation to its responsibility to monitor the implementation and enforcement of labour standards," she wrote.

Among the examples of low pay cited in its program, Enquête obtained a pay stub that showed a staff member working in the provincial capital in December 2017 was paid just under $70 for what appeared to be nearly 39 hours of work.

That's less than $2 an hour — and far less than the minimum wage, which was $11.25 per hour at the time in Quebec.
'Religious workers'

The Church of Scientology of Quebec — the official name of the organization's branch in Quebec City — refused Enquête's request for an interview.

In an email, however, a spokesperson said the organization doesn't have "employees."

"Church of Scientology of Quebec staff members are not 'employees,' but religious workers," said Michelle Lacombe, the group's director of public affairs.

"They voluntarily contribute to the activities of the church and its humanitarian goals. They don't work for monetary gain, but to help others," Lacombe wrote.

However, the concept of "religious workers" doesn't exist under the province's labour laws, said Dalia Gesualdi-Fecteau, a law professor at the University of Quebec in Montreal who specializes in labour law​.​

"It seems to me like a structured way to get cheap labour," Gesualdi-Fecteau said.



In this pay stub, obtained by Radio-Canada, a staff member of the Church of Scientology of Quebec appears to have been paid just under $70 for nearly 40 hours of work. (Radio-Canada)
Quebec labour minister responds

After Enquête's report aired earlier this week, Labour Minister Dominique Vien said she was concerned by its findings.

"I've asked the CNESST to look into what's happening," Vien told Radio-Canada.

Parti Québécois MNA Agnès Maltais, who represents the riding of Taschereau, where the Church of Scientology of Quebec is located, said Wednesday the revelations were "unacceptable" and "troubling."

Maltais called on the CNESST to launch an investigation.

Unlike court decisions, the result of CNESST investigations aren't made public, Trudel told Radio-Canada.

Translated from a report by Radio-Canada's Gaétan Pouliot

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-s-labour-watchdog-investigating-church-of-scientology-after-radio-canada-report-on-low-salaries-1.4706447

The Policeman Who Toppled a Guru

Asaram Bapu

Outlook
January 15, 2018

Available now - 53 minutes

Indian police officer Ajay Pal Lamba spent years chasing after the spiritual guru Asaram Bapu. The world famous demigod was accused of raping a 16 year old. Despite threats to his life from the guru's supporters, Ajay never gave up and tells Outlook's Emily Webb how he brought Asaram Bapu to justice.

Outlook Inspirations nominee Seyi Oluyole is transforming disadvantaged young lives in Nigeria through her dance group 'Dream Catchers'. It's made up of children from one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Lagos. To join Dream Catchers, the children make a deal - they agree to go to school and stick with their studies. If you're not learning - you're not dancing. Her work and the children's moves have caught the attention of some big names like Rihanna and Naomi Campbell after Seyi posted videos of the children dancing online. Seyi Oluyole appeared on Outlook April 2018.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cswl52

Chilean police raid Catholic Church offices amid abuse probe

June 14, 2018

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Police and prosecutors raided Roman Catholic Church offices in two Chilean cities Wednesday looking for files, investigative reports and documents related to a sex abuse scandal that has damaged the clergy’s reputation in the South American country.

The surprise raids targeted the headquarters of Santiago’s Ecclesiastical Court and the bishop’s office in Rancagua in the O’Higgins region, where 14 priests are accused of having had sexual relations with minors.

“In Chile, we are all subject to common justice,” said prosecutor Emiliano Arias, who led the raid in Santiago.

Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati, the archbishop of Santiago, said church officials “gave the prosecutor all the requested documentation.” He added that they are “available to cooperate with the civilian justice system in all that is required.”

In May, all of Chile’s 30-plus active bishops offered to quit over their collective guilt in failing to protect Chile’s children from priests who raped, groped and molested them.

Wednesday’s raids came as two leading Vatican investigators — Archbishop Charles Scicluna and Spanish Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu — are in Chile to investigate the sexual abuse of minors committed by clergy.

Scicluna and Bertomeu earlier put together a 2,300-page report that prompted Pope Francis to realize he had misjudged the Chilean situation.

The two men met Wednesday afternoon with four Chilean prosecutors, including Arias and national Attorney General Jorge Abbott.

“We came basically in search of cooperation in the investigations we are carrying out with respect to abuses suffered by minors” by people linked to the church, Abbott said. “The commitment is to a greater cooperation between the institutions.”

Abbott said prosecutors met some resistance in Rancagua, though they are satisfied with the information seized in both raids. He added that in the coming days prosecutors will ask the Vatican for any information it has related to the investigations.

On Monday, Francis began purging Chile’s Catholic hierarchy over the avalanche of sex abuse and cover-up cases, starting with accepting the resignations of the bishop at the center of the scandal and two others. More heads were expected to roll.

A Vatican statement Monday said Francis had accepted the resignations of Bishop Juan Barros of Osorno, Bishop Gonzalo Duarte of Valparaiso and Bishop Cristian Caro of Puerto Montt. He named a temporary leader for each diocese.

Barros, 61, has been at the center of Chile’s growing scandal ever since Francis appointed him bishop of Osorno in 2015 over the objections of the local faithful, the pope’s own sex abuse prevention advisers and some of Chile’s other bishops.

The report exposed evidence that the Chilean hierarchy systematically covered up and minimized abuse cases, destroying evidence of sex crimes, pressuring church investigators to discredit abuse accusations and showing “grave negligence” in protecting children from pedophile priests.

Those findings opened a Pandora’s Box of new accusations that led Francis to become the first pope to refer to a “culture of abuse and cover-up” in the Catholic Church.

The raids in Chile were reminiscent of the police search carried out in 2010 at the headquarters of the Catholic Church hierarchy in Belgium, which prompted Pope Benedict XVI to intervene and protest the “deplorable” intrusion in the Catholic Church’s legal process.

Belgian police took away computers and hundreds of files amid rumors that church leaders were continuing to cover up abuse cases. The raid prompted a Catholic panel investigating abuse to shut down in protest, saying Belgian authorities had betrayed the trust of nearly 500 victims who made complaints to the panel.

https://apnews.com/d16c618e305c4ce5a26043761c520817

Twelve Tribes community pushes back against labor violation accusations

WHEC
June 07, 2018

The Twelve Tribes community near Albany is pushing back against labor violations involving children.

Members say there weren't 12 people, let alone 12 children at the Common Sense packaging facility when the Department of Labor visited this week, so they don't know how they received 12 violations.

Investigators visited the community after "Inside Edition" aired hidden camera footage showing alleged child labor.

The community says "occasional visits" of children to its soap factory and farm do not violate child labor laws.

Eight more investigations have been opened in other Twelve Tribes communities, including one in Hamburg near Buffalo.

http://www.whec.com/news/twelve-tribes-community-pushes-back-against-labor-violation-accusations/4939822/

Elvis, anxiety, and exorcism: Ex-preacher still looking for apology after being cut out of church

Mike Bravener left Fredericton church after rift over his Elvis act that included exorcism incident

Matthew BingleyCBC News 
June 8, 2018

Musician Mike Bravener hasn't stopped performing as Elvis Presley even though his act contributed to a rift — and an attempted exorcism — at the Fredericton church the former preacher co-founded.

Bravener said he's still waiting 15 years later for a proper apology from the church christened The Meeting Place.

Despite his success singing as "The King," Bravener said the Elvis act also helped sour his relationship with church leaders in the early 2000s.

The strained relationship, and his struggles with crippling anxiety, led to his departure from the Meeting Place, but not before church members persuaded him to undergo an exorcism.
Bitten by Elvis bug

Bravener began dabbling in Elvis impersonations after attending a tribute concert while on a family vacation in Ontario.

"I thought 'when I get back to Fredericton, I'm gonna be the King, baby'," Bravener told CBC in a mock Elvis voice, recounting his start in show business. He said a member of the church even bought him a jumpsuit and a karaoke machine to get him going.

Bravener, still a preacher at the time, started to compete as an Elvis impersonator in 2001 after a year of performing at Frank's Finer Diner in Fredericton. He told CBC that performing was a thrill and helped encourage people to join his church.

"For me, what Elvis was doing was not only helping me to meet people who didn't go to church, but it was opening up doors in that I would go to palliative care and I would sing to patients there."

Bravener said a small group of church members were displeased with his devotion to Elvis and felt he was funnelling too much of his passion into music instead of focusing on building the church.

To make matters worse, Bravener began to suffer from crippling anxiety in the fall of 2001. "I would wake up in a sweat, afraid, all day I would be afraid," he recalled. The Meeting Place took away his preaching role soon afterward, he said.
Agreed to exorcism

He said he was then told by the church leadership that he was suffering 'demonic oppression'. Desperate for relief from his anxiety, Bravener said he agreed to be the subject of an exorcism. He said the attempted demonic expulsion took place at church member Joe Crummey's home.

"'We renounce! We command you!'" Bravener said members yelled at him. "I didn't levitate and I didn't throw up," he added, "but I felt like I was going to throw up and I was scared to death, I was shaking."

The ordeal only exacerbated his anxiety and he said his mental health issues soon returned.

Bravener left the church in the spring of 2003. Since then, it has re-branded as Christ Central Church and has written him out of its history. Bravener said members still haven't made amends for the painful ordeal.

"At the end of the day, there's no admission that anybody did anything wrong," he said.
Son's tribute

His son Josh said the church needs to apologize.

"The fact that there's been no sincere apology or nobody really coming forth to own up for the terrible thing they did, that just makes me even angrier," Josh, also a musician, told CBC.

The ex-preacher's son, now lead singer of Fredericton-based band 'The Hypochondriacs,' turned his father's story into a song. The Meeting Place recounts Bravener's tale and his son will often sing it within a stone's throw of Christ Central Church.

"I kind of wanted my revenge in a way," said Josh, "and with music being the only thing I can do, that's all I have as my weapon."

Bravener's son said he tells the story onstage before singing it and has so far only encountered one member of the church in the crowd.

Even more, Josh Bravener said the song helped him better understand his father. Listening to Josh play the song in their living room, Mike Bravener wiped a tear from his eye.
No church comment

CBC News requested an interview with Christ Central Church. Mark Rushworth, the current lead pastor, declined the request and said the church didn't want to discuss the matter publicly.

"It's been addressed before," Rushworth said over the phone, though Bravener and his son both dispute the claim.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Reporter
Matthew Bingley is a CBC reporter based in Saint John.



http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/elvis-exorcism-bravenor-church-1.4696843

Mock Suicide Drills, Child Labor and Armed Guards: Inside Jonestown in the Days Before Mass Poisoning

JOHNNY DODD and GREG HANLON
PEOPLE.com
June 11, 2018

When Tracy Parks’ parents joined the Peoples Temple in 1966, they were drawn by the Christian gospel, socialist politics and racial equality espoused by the founding pastor, Jim Jones.

In the church’s early days, Jones was considered an advocate for the downtrodden and marginalized, drawing praise from a host of politicians. Former San Francisco Mayor even described him as “an American Gandhi.” (Jones and his cult are featured on People Magazine Investigates: Cults, airing tonight (9 p.m. ET) on Investigation Discovery.)

But Tracy, who was 12 when more than 900 people died in the largest mass suicide in modern history in 1977, was always skeptical. She got an eerie feeling from the armed guards who stood watch over worship services and the way Jones would stomp on Bibles and rant against the government.

Tracy tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue, “Even as a child, sitting in these meetings, I’d look at all the adults around me and think, ‘What’s wrong with these people? How can you think this is okay?”

As time went on, rumors escalated about Jones’ drug use and sexual affairs with male and female congregants, as well as stories about his controlling nature and abuse. Jones took to wearing sunglasses at all times, saying it was “because he sees too much without them on,” Tracy’s father Jerry Parks tells PEOPLE.

In 1977, after a scathing magazine article, Jones moved his congregants to Jonestown, a 3,800-acre jungle compound in Guyana, where he promised a vision of paradise.

But the reality was far different, says Tracy. She and the other children spent eight hours a day working under the blistering sun with gun-toting guards watching her every move, while Jones’ paranoid, delusional rants played on the compound’s loudspeaker.

Worst of all were the mock suicide drills, called “White Nights,” in which Jones would rehearse mass suicides by making cult members drink from a mixture they thought contained fatal poison.

https://people.com/crime/jim-jones-mock-suicide-drills-jonestown-massacre/

Sweeney Investigates: Madonna / The Kabbbalah Centre

Feature for BBC2

Watch Video

https://vimeo.com/53964979

Third Man Accused of Child Marriage in Utah Sex Cult

Knights of the Crystal Blade men charged with rape and assault after allegedly marrying each others' young daughters.

Bryn Lovitt
Rolling Stone
June 11, 2018

In Utah, the Knights of Crystal Blade – a radical, fundamentalist Mormon offshoot – is under investigation for the abduction and assault of underage child brides. Authorities have charged Robert Shane Rowe – a man from California who was allegedly promised a child bride – with one count of child sodomy. Last December, an unbelievable kidnapping bust exposed the cult's founding members, 34-year-old Samuel "the Seer" Schaffer and follower John Coltharp, also 34, for not only kidnapping their own children, but "marrying them off" between the two. Now there appears to have been a third adult involved.

The investigation began after Coltharp's ex-wife, Micha Soble, went to the police claiming her former husband had kidnapped their children. The cops issued a statewide Amber alert, which led to the raid of a derelict compound just outside the small town of Lund, Utah. There, Schaffer and Coltharp allegedly had hidden their four daughters inside of freezing, 50-gallon water barrels. Initially, it was believed that Schaffer and Coltharp were the only members of the group involved in the abuse charges, which include multiple counts of child rape and sexual assault. However, as Prosecutor Kevin Daniels pointed out, the alleged involvement of Robert Shane Roe from California suggests the Schaffer and Coltharp were actively recruiting more members into the fold.

Shortly after Roe connected with Coltharp and Schaffer over social media, according to a statement Daniels made to The Salt Lake Tribune, he was encouraged to come to Utah for a baptism and promised Schaffer's five-year-old daughter as a child bride. The victim only recently came forward with the alleged abuse, which, via statement from prosecutor and Sanpete County attorney Kevin Daniels, played out similarly to previous charges. "Like two of the other individuals involved in Knights of the Crystal Blade," Daniel told KSLTV, "[Roe] has committed sexual acts upon children, under the auspices of marriage."

According to The Denver Post, Schaffer and Coltharp, are both former members of the Church of Latter-Day Saints, and adhere to an extreme belief in polygamy as well as an imminent doomsday. Newsweek reported that the two men met in a Facebook group lamenting the LDS's 1890 decision to ban polygamy, and from there created a now-defunct online forum outlining Schaffer's prophetic visions, including an apocalyptic Muslim attack.

Soble, Coltharp's ex-wife, told The Denver Post that her husband had previously expressed a desire to "live off the grid," and moved the family to Spring County, Utah, where he and Schaffer could build a compound in preparation for the end of the world. The "compound," however, described in a signed affidavit as "deplorable," was little more than a remote sprawl of abandoned trailers and shipping containers out in the desert.

Since September of last year and up until the raid, Coltharp left the couple's four children there in a double-wide trailer with his parents, an older couple who, despite the unlivable conditions including subzero temperatures at night, believed heavily in the practice of alternative medicine, Soble told The Denver Post. While Coltharp's two sons and their grandparents were spotted as soon as dogs and helicopters touched down on the compound, the daughters were nowhere to be found.

Both Coltharp and Schaffer managed to evade the search for several hours until an anonymous tipster claimed to have seen Schaffer walking several miles outside the compound. Once arrested, Schaffer told authorities where to find two of the four underage girls in the barrels, though he was reluctant to give up the remaining two's location. Ultimately, they were found hidden and lethargic in yet another trailer several miles away. Coltharp, however, was arrested at his home under suspicion of custodial interference and brought in for questioning, his children still at the compound.

The girls, all four under 10 years old, were rescued and flown to area hospitals as police charged their fathers with first-degree felony rape of a child, second-degree felony count of child abuse, obstruction of justice, child kidnapping, and in a surprising first for the state of Utah – home to notorious polygamist ringleaders like Warren Jeffs – child bygamy.

Schaffer entered a guilty plea in February and was sentenced to 26 years to life in prison. Coltharp faces trial next month for lewdness with a child, obstruction of justice and child bygamy. The trial will pick up on July 9th. Roe also faced a count of child sodomy, which carries the possibility of life in jail. As of Monday afternoon he is not yet in custody, though there is a warrant out for his arrest.

"These are extreme individuals with extreme beliefs that believe the end of the world is coming," Daniels told the Idaho State Journal. It was the police who raided the compound who "prevented those little girls from dying. Or repeating a Waco-style shootout."

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/third-man-accused-of-child-marriage-in-utah-sex-cult-w521399

Accused sex cult leader wants out of jail before trial, says women volunteered for his ceremonies

Janon Fisher
The San Diego Union-Tribune
June 11,2018

The women who branded themselves as part of an initiation ceremony in an Albany sex cult did so voluntarily, the lawyer for the group’s accused leader said, arguing in court papers for his client’s release from jail prior to trial.

Keith Raniere, 57, is not a danger to the community and should be sprung, attorney Marc Agnifilo argued in a bail application, because the sex and the branding were done of the women’s own volition.

“Several of the women chose to voluntarily brand themselves,” he said.

Raniere is willing to post $10 million bond, restrict his travel, wear a GPS monitor, have two 24-hour armed guards and other restrictions in exchange for his freedom before his court date.

Actress Allison Mack, a co-star on TV’s “Smallville,” is charged with sex trafficking and forced labor conspiracy in the case.

Prosecutors say that within Raniere’s supposed self-help organization NXIVM was a secret society of sex slaves forced into devoting themselves to “masters” — with Raniere at the top of the heap, according to authorities.

Mack, they say, helped recruit women into the alleged cult.

The 35-year-old is out on $5 million bond and is under house arrest in Los Alamitos, Calif.

Raniere remains locked up in Brooklyn federal jail.

Their trial is scheduled to start in October.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/ny-news-cult-leader-wants-bail-20180606-story.html

5 facts about religion in India

SAMIRAH MAJUMDAR
Pew Research Center
June 6, 2018

India is home to 1.4 billion people – almost one-sixth of the world’s population – who belong to a variety of ethnicities and religions. While 94% of the world’s Hindus live in India, there also are substantial populations of Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and adherents of folk religions.

For most Indians, faith is important: In a 2015 Pew Research Center survey, eight-in-ten Indians said religion is very important in their lives.

Here are five facts about religion in India:

1India’s massive population includes not only the vast majority of the world’s Hindus, but also the second-largest group of Muslims within a single country, behind only Indonesia. By 2050, India’s Muslim population will grow to 311 million, making it the largest Muslim population in the world, according to Pew Research Center projections. Still, Indian Muslims are projected to remain a minority in their country, making up about 18% of the total population at midcentury, while Hindus figure to remain a majority (about 77%).

2India is a religiously pluralistic and multiethnic democracy – the largest in the world. Its constitution provides for freedom of conscience and the right to profess, practice and propagate religion. It has protections for minorities against discrimination on the grounds of religion or caste (a strict social stratification based on Hinduism). In 1976, the constitution was amended, officially making the country a secular state. At the same time, a directive in the constitution prohibits the slaughter of cows – an animal Hindus hold sacred – which each state has the authority to enforce. Currently, 21 out of 29 states have prison sentences for the act.

3While there are legal protections for religious groups and minorities, Indians still generally experience “high” levels of government restrictions on religion, according to an annual Pew Research Center study. There are legal restrictions on religious conversions in at least six states that have at times been used to arrest and intimidate Muslims and Christians who proselytize, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Additionally, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs are legally considered Hindus and are unable to access social services or employment and educational preferences available to other religious minority groups. Meanwhile, Christians and Muslims who identify as low-caste Dalits – some of whom are descendants of Hindu Dalits who converted to escape caste discrimination – are restricted from accessing educational and employment benefits traditionally reserved for Hindu Dalits. Despite these restrictions, India’s Supreme Court has upheld protections for minorities in some religious freedom cases.

4India also has experienced high levels of religion-related social hostilities in the past decade, according to the same Pew Research Center study. In fact, since we began tracking this issue in 2007, the country has scored “very high” on the study’s Social Hostilities Index. Much of the hostility is directed against low-caste Dalits, according to the U.S. State Department. Religious minorities, including Buddhists, Christians, Jains, Muslims and Sikhs, also are harassed. In recent years there has been a surge in mob attacks by Hindu vigilante groups against Dalit and Muslim consumers and traders in the beef, dairy and leather industries. Additionally, Dalit women are disproportionately victims of sexual violence due to their caste, while Muslim women and girls also have been targeted due to their religion.

5Most Indians are concerned about religious tensions, but even larger shares are worried about several other national issues. India has experienced violent outbreaks between religious communities since its modern founding. In 1947, India’s borders were drawn by departing British colonial rulers to create a Muslim state in Pakistan, leading to mass violence, displacement and up to a million deaths. In the seven decades since, major religious tensions have flared at various times, including a campaign by Sikhs for a separate nation and deadly Hindu-Muslim riots following attacks on religious sites in the Indian state of Gujarat. According to a 2016 Pew Research Center survey, 54% of Indians said “communal relations” – between Indians of different faiths and/or different castes – are a very big problem in their country, while an additional 22% named this as a moderately big problem. But bigger shares of Indian adults named crime, lack of employment opportunities, corruption, terrorism and air pollution as major national problems.



http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/06/06/5-facts-about-religion-in-india/

Massive Minnesota settlement a possible precedent in Pa. abuse cases

Rep. Mark Rozz

PETER SMITH
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
June 12, 2018

Advocates for sexual-abuse survivors are rebooting their effort on Tuesday in Harrisburg for legislation that would allow victims to sue over abuse that happened years or decades ago.

And if a recent settlement in Minnesota is any indication, the implications for such legislation could be huge for Pennsylvania’s Roman Catholic dioceses, which are facing the imminent release of a landmark grand jury report into 70 years of alleged sexual abuse and cover-up.

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis on May 31 reached at $210 million settlement with about 450 victims of abuse by clergy and others associated with the church.

That followed the archdiocese’s 2015 bankruptcy filing, which itself followed an avalanche of lawsuits made possible by a 2013 Child Victim’s Act. That Minnesota law provided a three-year window in the statute of limitations that otherwise had barred lawsuits over long-ago abuse.

“There’s absolutely no doubt what we’re seeing in the Twin Cities is a direct result of the Child Victim’s Act,” said Terry McKiernan of BishopAccountability.org, a resource and victim’s advocacy group. He noted that other Minnesota dioceses are working on their own bankruptcy settlements.

He expects the pressure for a similar window would rise here “If the grand jury report really hits Pennsylvania hard, as I would expect it would.”

Advocates say victims take years, even decades, to come to terms with being sexually assaulted by clergy and others.

“What happened in Minnesota should be happening across the country,” said Robert Hoatson of the New Jersey-based Road to Recovery, an advocacy group for survivors of abuse. “There should be no statute of limitations on the sexual abuse of children.”

Pennsylvania currently has a strict statute of limitations, and those who have sued in past years have settled for relatively nominal amounts. The Diocese of Pittsburgh settled in 2007 for $1.25 million with 32 people whose attempt to pursue their lawsuits was stymied by court rulings that refused to consider their legal theory that the statute of limitations should be canceled in their cases because of alleged fraud and cover-up by the diocese.

Settlements with Pennsylvania’s victims of clergy abuse have mostly been small compared nine-figure settlements in Minnesota and earlier in California, which had also followed a window in the statute of limitations there.

Now, with the anticipated late-June release of a report into six more dioceses, Rep. Mark Rozzi is re-starting his effort.

Rep. Rozzi, D-Berks, himself a survivor of sexual abuse by a priest, said the issue involves more than one religious group.

“The problem is, this isn’t just a Catholic clergy problem,” he said in an interview in advance of this afternoon’s press conference at the Capitol rotunda in Harrisburg. “We still have people who were abused by (former Penn State assistant football coach) Jerry Sandusky who are looking for justice. We have Jehovah’s Witnesses that are looking for justice. We have Boy Scouts that are looking for justice.”

The news conference will include victims of abuse by Jehovah’s Witnesses who say their church covered up the risk of molesters within their ranks.

The Rev. Thomas Doyle, an expert in canon (Catholic Church) law, noted that the Twin Cities settlement came mainly from insurance, not church coffers.

He urged people not to be swayed by Catholic leaders’ arguments that bankruptcy settlements would drain needed funds from parishioners and schoolchildren who weren’t at fault for the misdeeds of past bishops. Rev. Doyle, a former advisor to bishops and long-time advocate for victims, gave expert testimony to the Pennsylvania grand jury and advised the attorney who handled the Minnesota settlement,

Just because people could file lawsuits, they still have to make their case, said Rev. Doyle, of Virginia. There would only be a massive settlement if there was massive abuse, which he suspects there was.

“The only reason the church is trying to stop it — they don’t care about people going to schools and parishes —they care about their reputation,” he said. “When you have a grand jury investigation with a damning report, it’s very difficult for the defense, the church to come up with any valid excuses why they acted the way they did.”

And, he noted, other victims of child-serving organizations face similar legal hurdles.

“It’s gross selfishness and self-centeredness for the institutional church because they think it’s all about them,” he said. “It’s about anybody that’s gone through that.”

In 2016, in the wake of a grand jury report into the history of abuse and cover-up in the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, an effort to open a window in the statute of limitations gained some momentum but faced a major lobbying counterpush from Catholic leaders.

While the Pennsylvania Catholic Conference, the voice of bishops on policy issues, opposed the earlier effort to lift the statute, spokeswoman Amy Hill declined to comment on this latest effort.

“In light of the upcoming grand jury report, we do not believe it’s appropriate at this time for us to discuss legislative issues,” Ms. Hill said.

The 40th statewide grand jury recently completed a 22-month term in Pittsburgh and reviewed half a million pages of internal documents from the dioceses of Pittsburgh, Greensburg, Erie, Harrisburg, Allentown and Scranton. The dioceses are reviewing for comment the 800-plus page report, which is expected to be released in late June.

Peter Smith: petersmith@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1416; Twitter @PG_PeterSmith.

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/faith-religion/2018/06/12/Massive-Minnesota-settlement-Catholic-sex-abuse-statute-of-limitations-grand-jury-dioceses/stories/201806120083

Doomsday cult leader in central Utah pleads guilty to child bigamy, sodomy charges

BEN WINSLOW
FOX 13 News
June 13, 2018


MANTI, Utah — The leader of a doomsday cult in central Utah has struck a plea deal with prosecutors.

John Alvin Coltharp, 34, pleaded guilty to felony charges of child bigamy and sodomy. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed charges of kidnapping and obstruction of justice.

“I plead guilty,” Coltharp told the judge to both charges.

Prosecutors allege Coltharp is a member of the “Knights of the Crystal Blade,” a small apocalyptic-based group near Spring City with about a half-dozen members.

It has been a long and strange trip to get to trial. Coltharp previously refused to plead. His attorney said Coltharp cited religious beliefs that prevented him from saying the word “guilty.” During a hearing last month, he tried to fire his lawyer and demanded to meet with the Sanpete County Attorney to explain his faith.

A co-defendant, Samuel Shaffer, still faces sex abuse and child bigamy charges in Manti. He was sentenced to 26 years-to-life in prison in Cedar City last month on charges of child rape and child abuse.

The case stems from an AMBER Alert issued in December for four children reported missing in central Utah. Police found two of the children in a mobile home west of Cedar City, and the other two hiding in empty water barrels with temperatures dipping near freezing. Iron County prosecutors allege the children likely would have died in those conditions.

After he was arrested, Shaffer told Iron County Sheriff’s deputies he was “betrothed” to Coltharp’s 8-year-old daughter. Shaffer also told police Coltharp was married to his 7-year-old daughter.

Sanpete County prosecutors recently filed a felony charge against another member of the Knights of the Crystal Blade. Robert Roe, 35, was charged with first-degree felony sodomy on a child. Daniels alleges Roe took a 5-year-old girl as a bride.

Roe has made arrangements to surrender to authorities and is due in court later this month, Daniels said.

http://fox13now.com/2018/06/13/doomsday-cult-leader-in-central-utah-pleads-guilty-to-child-bigamy-sodomy-charges/

For Those Trying To Leave Ultra-Orthodox Communities, Courts Can Play Major Role

WBUR 90.9
June 13, 2018

Chavie Weisberger grew up in an ultra-Orthodox Hasidic community in Monsey, New York, where she raised her three children after her 2008 divorce. But as she began questioning her faith and her sexuality, her neighbors told the religious authorities there that she was allowing secular behavior in her home.

Her estranged husband sued for custody and won, in a secular Brooklyn court — it upheld a religious court document she signed at the time of her divorce. Weisberger didn't realize that in it she'd agreed to raise her children Hasidic.

Ultimately, another court overturned that decision and restored full custody to Weisberger.

Here & Now's Robin Young talks with Weisberger (@iamchavie) about the issues faced by Hasidic men and women who leave the community, and is also joined by Lani Santo (@notinabox_ls), executive director of Footsteps, a social services organization that provides social and financial services for those transitioning to a secular lifestyle.

On protection from the outside world

Chavie Weisberger: "I would say I was very protected. I didn't have a lot of understanding of larger ideas of how people lived. I didn't have access to education past my high school education, which was in an all-girls ultra-Orthodox school. My exposure to secular ideas and people was very, very limited."

On questioning her lifestyle, and reaction from people in the community

CW: "I think a big part of the process for me was very internal. It was me starting to question if I was going to live a life that was honest and raise my children according to the values that I really believed in. Then, how would I do that in a way that I can live fully and honestly and was protective of my relationship with my children? And, eventually, that started expressing itself externally. And that's when, you know, neighbors in the community started having strong reactions."

On the contract she had signed in religious court agreeing to practice her faith and raise her children Hasidic, and how it ended up in secular court

CW: "The original agreement that I signed in the beth din, which is the Jewish court of law, is seen as negotiation or an arbitration agreement, and then was just presented in front of a judge and signed. And that's why it had such legal binding later when when my ex-husband took me back to court to fight for custody of our children."

"We see this happening in almost every case of individuals who are choosing to leave, especially Hasidic communities."

On her defense in court

CW: "Ultimately, best interest of the children has to override any preexisting agreement. Since I was the children's primary caretaker all these years, and the children were comfortable with the lifestyle changes that were slowly happening for us as a family, it made sense that the children should be allowed to continue in that vein."

On how often it happens that men or women have to go before courts because they're moving away from their faith

Lani Santo: "We see this happening in almost every case of individuals who are choosing to leave, especially Hasidic communities. There's almost always a contested divorce. And I think part of what's important to understand is that people are signing things that are not explained to them. They don't have counsel on the beth din. There might be a room full of rabbis with long beards, and for a woman, especially, an intense power imbalance there. But for both men and women they're told, 'Just sign this and you'll be free of a marriage that's not working out for you.' They don't know what they're signing."

On the nature of these cases

LS: "Judges will ask whichever partner, spouse seems to be becoming less religious. And time and time again, the argument of best interest of the child, as interpreted as maintain the status quo in their life, is what's being upheld above all else, as opposed to seeing that as one of a number of different factors, including who the primary caretaker of the children has been, including the right of a child to have a relationship with both parents and the right of a parent to have a relationship with their children no matter their religious identity. And I think, in a lot of the cases that we're seeing, judges are favoring issues of freedom of religion, and they're also not necessarily looking at a First Amendment issue of freedom from religion.

On how children might feel, or be treated by their community, based on how their parents live

CW: "I think you bring up an excellent question. And while I do agree with you that we try to minimize stress and trauma from children's lives and keep things as stable as possible, in an ideal world, people wouldn't be married off at a really young age to someone they don't know before they have a chance to really explore who they are, and how they want to raise their children, and what their futures are going to look like. And so ideally, we wouldn't be in this position where children are now being raised by parents who have opposing values and lifestyles. But once we're at this place, and there are children involved, ideally the courts should support navigating a way to support children to be living with both of their parents in their lives in as meaningful a way as possible. And children are smart, and they're resilient, and they're really capable of understanding these nuances of who their parents are."

"In an ideal world, people wouldn't be married off at a really young age to someone they don't know before they have a chance to really explore who they are."

On the challenges of living outside of the Hasidic community

CW: "When I initially started making changes in my lifestyle, I lost my job that I had in the community, I lost the support of my family and friends and I really felt like I had to start all over.

"I try very hard to shut out the voices of people who are not supporting me and my children and the journey of living a rich and full life. I can't say that that affects our day-to-day experience."

This segment aired on June 13, 2018.

http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2018/06/13/leaving-ultra-orthodox-community

PRESS RELEASE: “AR15 Pastor” releases Rod of Iron Kingdom book

June 14, 2018

“True faith in God is not a fairy tale world of delusion. The Rod of Iron Kingdom is where every citizen has the right and the responsibility to defend their family and neighbor.” This is the basic thesis of Rod of Iron Kingdom, a newly released book by Pastor Sean Moon, the youngest son and anointed heir of the late Sun Myung Moon.

Sean Moon is the pastor of the Sanctuary Church, or Unification Sanctuary based in Newfoundland, PA. which received considerable publicity in February of this year when it sponsored a marriage blessing where participants brought their AR 15 rifles. In the wake of the Parkland, Florida school shooting this caused a lot of controversy, but for Pastor Sean, the ARs represent the sovereignty of the co-heirs of Christ and their right and duty to protect the lives of loved ones in their families and community.
“We’ve already seen throughout history what happens when central governments control all the firearms. In the last century, 260 million people were murdered by their own (evil) governments.”
Based on 16 sermons given over the past year, chapters such as the “Civil War in the Western World” and “The Challenge of Political Islam” and the “Leftist Fascist Threat to Democracy” explain how secular and anti-Christian ideologies threaten America’s survival far more than any foreign invader.
Rev. Moon uses facts seldom reported in mainstream media. Average American citizens use firearms in self-defense 2 million times per year, or 5,400 times per day. Pastor Moon writes that the “greatest love is not to call 911 and wait for someone else to do something!” Since it is impossible for the police to always arrive in time to stop criminals, when citizens are properly armed and trained even the elderly or small in stature can prevent or reduce violence. To cite just one of many examples, the church shooting in Sutherland County, Texas, was stopped by a citizen with an AR-15, thus preventing further innocent bloodshed.
Had Aaron Feis, the football coach who lost his life protecting students at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, been armed, he could have saved many more lives, including his own.
Rod of Iron Kingdom is available at RodofIronMinistries.org or at Amazon.com.

Contact:

Regis Hanna
Media Coordinator, Sanctuary Church
dr.regis.hanna@gmail.com
(570) 618-0367

NXIVM: Judge denies bail for founder of alleged sex cult tied to Allison Mack

CBS News
June 12, 2018

NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York has denied bail for an alleged sex cult founder in his sex-trafficking case after questions were raised about an heiress who has bankrolled him. Lawyers for Keith Raniere had sought his release on Tuesday on $10 million bond, but the judge sided with prosecutors who argued he could flee with the help of benefactors known to include Clare Bronfman, an heiress to the Seagram's liquor fortune.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Moira Penza labeled a person fitting the description of Bronfman as a co-conspirator in the case.

There was no immediate response on Tuesday to a message left with a lawyer for Bronfman, who hasn't been charged.

Raniere has denied charges he formed a secret society within NXIVM that branded victims with his initials.

Allison Mack, an actress best known for her role on the television show "Smallville," was granted bail in April while fighting several charges regarding her connection to NXIVM. Mack has been accused of recruiting women into the group and exploiting them.

A federal judge in Brooklyn agreed to release the actress on $5 million bond. She will be living with her parents under home detention in California. She has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking.

In March, federal prosecutors said they captured Raniere making some women brand themselves with his initials. FBI agents raided a home in New York connected to Raniere, CBS Los Angeles reports.

Raniere has called NXIVM a self-help group, but investigators allege it was a multi-level marketing scheme used as a ruse to enslave and traffic women for sex.

"As alleged in the indictment, Allison Mack recruited women to join what was purported to be a female mentorship group that was, in fact, created and led by Keith Raniere. The victims were then exploited, both sexually and for their labor, to the defendants' benefit," U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Richard P. Donoghue said in an April press release. "This Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to prosecuting predators who victimize others through sex trafficking and forced labor."

Court filings say that in 2015, Raniere, who also went by "Vanguard," created a secret sub-organization with NXIVM called "DOS," an acronym for a Latin phrase that loosely translates to "Lord/Master of the Obedient Female Companions," or "The Vow." The filings allege that DOS had levels of women "slaves" headed by "masters" in a pyramid scheme, with Raniere at the top and Mack immediately below Raniere.

Mack and other DOS masters allegedly recruited DOS slaves by telling them they were joining an empowering women-only organization that would help them overcome their weaknesses. The women allegedly hid that Raniere, the only man in the organization, was at the top of the pyramid.

The filings also say that slaves in DOS were branded in the pelvic region with Raniere's initials. The women were allegedly naked and required to be appear on film while they were branded.

An earlier criminal complaint alleges that women were expected to have sex with Raniere and do menial chores for masters.

In March, Raniere was arrested outside Puerto Vallarta by Mexican federal police. In a video obtained by Inside Edition, a woman believed to be Mack can be seen and heard as Raniere is taken away.

Former NXIVM publicist Frank Parlato told Inside Edition that Mack is "completely enamored with Raniere and completely under his thrall." He also said that Mack and her "Smallville" co-star, Kristin Kreuk, were used as "poster girls for normalizing the group." Kreuk says she left NXIVM years ago and commended the women who exposed DOS.

If convicted of the charges, Mack and Raniere each face a minimum of 15 years and up to life in prison.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nxivm-judge-denies-bail-for-keith-raniere-founder-of-alleged-sex-cult-tied-to-allison-mack/

Church of Scientology staffer in Quebec City earned $70 for nearly 39 hours of work, document shows

Organization says its staff are 'religious workers,' but expert says that title doesn't exist in Quebec law

CBC News
Jun 13, 2018

A staff member of the Church of Scientology working in Quebec City in December 2017 was paid just under $70 for what appears to be nearly 39 hours of work, according to documents obtained by Radio-Canada's Enquête investigative news program from a confidential source.

That's less than $2 an hour — and far less than the minimum wage, which was $11.25 per hour at the time in Quebec.

The minimum wage in the province rose to $12 an hour on May 1.

But the organization says its employees are "religious workers."
Pay depends on church revenue, ex-members say.

According to the doctrine espoused by the Church of Scientology's founder, L. Ron Hubbard, staff members aren't paid by the hour, but rather by "units," former members of the church told Radio-Canada.



In this pay stub, obtained by Radio-Canada, the Church of Scientology of Quebec appears to have paid someone just under $70 for nearly 39 hours of work. (Radio-Canada)

Assigned based on a person's role and experience within the organization, the value of these units can fluctuate from week to week depending on how much money the church brings in over that period.

On another pay stub seen by Radio-Canada, one of the workers was paid $20.19 for six hours of work.

Radio-Canada tried to reach these specific workers for comment, without success.

Workers within the organization must also deduct taxes and other contributions, including workers insurance, from their gross salary.

The cumulative salary for one staff member was about $8,275 after deductions, according to another document obtained by Radio-Canada.
'Religious workers'

The church has two branches in the province, one in Quebec City and the other in Montreal.

The Church of Scientology of Quebec — the official name of the branch in Quebec City — refused Enquête's request for an interview.



In this pay stub, obtained by Radio-Canada, the cumulative salary for one staff member was about $8,275 after deductions. (Radio-Canada)

In an email, however, a spokesperson said the organization doesn't have "employees."

"Church of Scientology of Quebec staff members are not 'employees,' but religious workers," said Michelle Lacombe, the group's director of public affairs.

"They voluntarily contribute to the activities of the church and its humanitarian goals. They don't work for monetary gain, but to help others," Lacombe wrote.

Lacombe said, however, that "naturally, there is compensation so that staff members can carry out their work."

However, the concept of "religious workers" doesn't exist under the province's labour laws, known officially as the Act Respecting Labour Standards, said Dalia Gesualdi-Fecteau, a law professor at the University of Quebec in Montreal who specializes in labour law​.
70 workers in Quebec City

Gesualdi-Fecteau questioned the organization's assertion that its staff are volunteers as understood by the law.

Someone can't be a "semi-volunteer," she said. "You're salaried or a volunteer."

Even if you're paid a small sum, you're no longer volunteering, Gesualdi-Fecteau explained.

"We're seemingly moving away from volunteer work because there are pay stubs, there are sums being deducted," said Gesualdi-Fecteau, who worked as a lawyer with Quebec's labour standards commission for eight years.

"It seems to me like a structured way to get cheap labour," she said.

A former spokesperson for the Church of Scientology of Quebec, who held the post in 2010, told the newspaper Le Devoir she was paid between $800 and $1,000 per month for full-time work, which amounted to less than the minimum wage at the time.

The organization, which says it has 70 workers in Quebec City, is actively recruiting with the help of advertising.

"Since our community is continually growing, the need for new staff members is proportional," Lacombe said.
Church not exempt from paying minimum wage

In addition to their wages, the organization's staff benefit from "spiritual services" and "personal improvement courses," Lacombe said.

However, law professor Gesualdi-Fecteau said that can't replace a proper salary.

While some types of workers are totally or partially excluded from Quebec's Act Respecting Labour Standards, those exemptions would not apply to the Church of Scientology of Quebec, said Gesualdi-Fecteau.

Individuals who are self-employed, employees subject to the Canada Labour Code, embassy or consulate employees, senior managerial staff, or a student who works as part of an internship program approved by the Quebec Education Ministry are among the types of workers who may be excluded, according to Quebec's workplace health and safety board.

"I can't manage to find an exemption that would justify [the Church of Scientology of Quebec] paying less than minimum wage," Gesualdi-Fecteau said.

"A person who is not subject to an exemption [under the law and] who doesn't appear to be a volunteer, has the right to the minimum wage. [If not], we're violating the Act Respecting Labour Standards. There's no other way to say it."
'Slavery,' according to one ex-Scientologist

For several years, former members of the Church of Scientology, which operates in countries around the world, have talked about being poorly paid by the organization. They were paid less than the minimum wage in their respective countries, they said.

Jean-Paul Dubreuil, a former Scientologist in Quebec who left the church in 1990 after more than six years, said members were paid depending on what they could bring in to the organization.

"If the group didn't make a dime, we weren't paid," Dubreuil said.

He said a local office of the church had to pay its bills and allocate part of its profits to the organization's central branch, similar to a franchisee, before it could pay its staff.

Dubreuil, who has a critical, personal opinion of the church's labour practices, said he believes they amount to "slavery, pure and simple."

"But slavery carried out in a joyous way because we're saving the world," said Dubreuil, the author of the book, Les coulisses de la scientologie, and one of the few people in Quebec who has made some of the group's inner workings public.

Ludovic Durand, another a former Scientologist who worked at the Celebrity Centre in Paris for 20 years, said he didn't initially think about working conditions within the organization, but later became disenchanted, largely because of the low salaries.

"It's clearly not volunteerism. It's never been volunteerism," Durand said. "That's the facade."

Translated from a report by Radio-Canada's Gaétan Pouliot

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/scientology-workers-quebec-minimum-wage-1.4702494

Company Owner And Bookkeeper Indicted On Wire Fraud Conspiracy Charges In Connection With Unemployment Insurance Benefits Scheme

U.S. Attorneys » Western District of North Carolina

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 7, 2018


ASHEVILLE, N.C. – A grand jury sitting in Asheville returned a federal criminal indictment today, charging Marion Kent Covington, 63, and Diane Mary McKinny, 65, both of Rutherfordton, N.C., with a conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with an unemployment insurance benefits scheme, announced R. Andrew Murray, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Nick S. Annan, Special Agent in Charge of ICE/Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Georgia and the Carolinas; Robert Schurmeier, Director of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation; and Rafiq Ahmad, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Labor-Office of the Inspector General, join U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.

According to allegations contained in the indictment, at all relevant times, Covington was the president, owner, and registered agent of Diverse Corporate Technologies, (“DCT”), a plastics manufacturing company located in Rutherford County, N.C. McKinny worked for Covington at DCT. The indictment alleges that, in late 2008, DCT was struggling financially, so the co-defendants developed and implemented a scheme to defraud the State of North Carolina by placing DCT employees on Unemployment Insurance Benefits (“UI Benefits”), while those employees continued to work at the business in excess of what was permitted by the program eligibility requirements. The indictment alleges that the scheme allowed DCT to reduce the cost-of-labor component of its cost-of-goods-sold, thereby increasing its net profitability.

The indictment alleges that in November or December 2008, in order to accomplish the scheme, the co-defendants “laid off” nearly all of the employees at DCT. The co-defendants provided some employees with separation notices and instructed them as to how to file their own claims for UI Benefits. Those employees received UI Benefits based on their asserted “totally unemployed” status. Next, the indictment alleges, Covington called a business meeting at DCT and informed the remaining DCT employees that the company could no longer afford to pay their wages, and that they therefore would be placed on UI Benefits, but that Covington expected the employees to continue to work at DCT, just as they had before they were laid off, in order to help the business survive. The indictment alleges that Covington used his position of authority within his church community, which included most, if not all, of the employees at DCT, to coerce the employees to comply. Around the same time, McKinny filed claims for UI Benefits on behalf of the employees whom Covington had required to continue working at DCT while they received UI Benefits. In filing the necessary information for UI Benefits, McKinny certified the claimants’ initial and continuing eligibility to receive those benefits.

The indictment alleges that, at Covington’s direction, at least five of the employees for whom McKinny made claims for UI Benefits then continued to work at DCT on a full-time or near-full-time basis while collecting UI Benefits every week. Through the operation of the scheme outlined above, the co-defendants obtained more than six months of free labor for DCT, paid for by the government, instead of by the business itself.

The indictment further alleges that by September 2009, several other businesses run by members of the same church community to which Covington and McKinny belonged, and employing many members of that same church community, were facing their own financial struggles related to the economic downturn. According to the indictment, the co-defendants then began to promote the fraud that they had devised at DCT to other members of the church community.

In addition to promoting the scheme to other business owners, Covington implemented the scheme a second time, with McKinny’s help, at Integrity Marble, Inc., d/b/a Integrity Marble & Granite, another for-profit company that Covington owned and managed, in or about March of 2010. Covington then implemented a variation of the scheme a third time at Sky Catcher Communications, Inc., a company he managed, in or about May of 2011.

In total, between November 2008 and March 2013, the scheme resulted in over $250,000 in fraudulent claims for UI Benefits by employees who continued to work full-time or near-full-time at businesses owned or managed by co-conspirators, and who were therefore ineligible to claim those UI Benefits.

Covington and McKinny are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution, which carries a maximum prison term of 30 years and a maximum fine of $1,000,000. They have been ordered to appear on a summons in federal court.

The charges contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in a court of law.

In making today’s announcement U.S. Attorney Murray commended HSI, SBI, and the Department of Labor for their investigation of the case. U.S. Attorney Murray also thanked District Attorney Ted Bell, of the Rutherford County District Attorney’s Office, for his assistance and support throughout the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Bradley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville is in charge of the prosecution.

2018 Annual ICSA Conference in Philadelphia July 5-7, 2018

Details for ICSA’s 2018 Annual Conference in Philadelphia (July 5-7; preconference events July 4) which is organized jointly with Info-Cult/Info-Secte are available online, including registration, agenda, speakers, abstracts, hotel, preconference workshops, etc.


Go here for details, including online registration: http://www.icsahome.com/events/conferenceannual .



Among the dozens of sessions are:

• Domestic Violence and Cults
• Gang, Cult and Terror Youth Recruitment
• What Helps Former Members Recover
• Reawakening Your Spirituality After a Cult Experience
• Spiritual Abuse
• Impact of Being Born or Raised in a Cult
• Parenting Postcult
• Cults and Sexuality
• Legal Theories: Overview and Potential Strategies

Social scientist addresses question of why people are religious

David Gibson
The Pilot
June 1, 2018

"Why God? Explaining Religious Phenomena" by Rodney Stark. Templeton Press (Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, 2017). 293 pp., $24.95.

"Most humans believe (and hope) that life has meaning." That affirmation appears in the list of basic propositions that form the core around which Rodney Stark, a widely known sociologist of religion, builds his new book, "Why God?"

Stark's central question is "Why are most people religious?" He states in the final proposition on his lengthy list -- No. 192, to be exact -- that "the everlasting basis for religion will be the human conviction and hope that life has meaning."

Writing as a social scientist, Stark endeavors "to explain the human side of religion," which he calls "the only aspect of religion available to social science." His book's aim, then, is not to convert, to catechize or to bring faith to life for readers, as many books in the religious realm aim to do.

Rather, for the most part he attempts to view religions from the outside looking in, so to speak. He asks: "Why do people believe in gods? Why do they pray? How do revelations occur?"

This book is meant, then, for those who wonder why religions ever developed in the world and why such vast numbers of the world's citizens consider religion a life essential. Whether or not Stark considers religion an essential part of his own life is apparently beside the point here.

Yet, Stark is not a complete outsider to religion, having been raised within the Christian tradition and holding strong opinions about certain contemporary trends among Christians.

So this book is not devoid of passion for religion. Indeed, Stark passionately rejects any notion that a religion can be godless, stating that "all attempts to sustain godless religions are a resounding failure."

I wondered in reading "Why God?" if it might just as well be titled "Why Religion?" Clearly, though, its actual title reflects a strong stance that the author wants to assert uncompromisingly. He rejects the notion that "various philosophies of life such as secular humanism, existentialism or, indeed science" can be identified as religious.

"Religious organizations will often fail due to an insufficient image of God," Stark writes.

In fact, in defining the term "religion," he states: "A religion consists of a very general explanation of being (metaphysics) predicated on the existence of a god or gods, and including the terms of exchange with a god or gods (theology)."

These terms of exchange encompass a religion's expectations of believers, as well as the rewards expected of their faith commitment.

Stark co-directs the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, a Christian university founded in the Baptist tradition. He is well known to social scientists who study the basic phenomena of religion and at times seems intent on addressing them directly.

But the range of his concerns in "Why God?" is broad, reaching far back in time to the origins of various religions, but commenting also on new religious movements.

Some of his conclusions may surprise readers. For example, in discussing how a religion's membership grows, he contests the view that Christianity's growth in its early centuries was nothing short of miraculous. He holds that "there was plenty of time for Christianity to achieve" the membership reached by the fourth century through a conventional growth process.

Among numerous other points of interest, Stark discusses:

-- Monotheism's importance. "Only a God of infinite scope seems able to be a moral force," he comments. He says it takes "a God of infinite scope" to demand "a lifelong, exclusive, obedient relationship."

-- New religious movements: These, he concludes, contrary to popular views, tend not to be launched by the suffering poor but by "people of privilege who suffer from spiritual deprivation." He believes one common cause of spiritual deprivation "is the increasingly vague image of God presented by a monopoly religion."

-- Mental illness: Stark labels "false" the notion that people suffering poor mental health tend more than others to be drawn to religion. Instead, he states, "people with poor mental health tend to be less religious."

A key point in "Why God?" that some may want to discuss further involves Stark's complex examination of what he calls high- and low-tension religious groups. "All religious organizations can be located along an axis of tension between the group and its sociocultural environment," he observes.

This tension relates to "the degree of distinctiveness, separation and antagonism between a religious organization" and its cultural environment. America, Stark notes, "was founded by members of high-tension sects." But as time passed, many "began to lower their tension."

Stark examines a tendency among "religious organizations to continue moving from higher to lower tension" in order to satisfy members' wishes. Due to this, there tends "to be an oversupply of low-tension religious organizations." But at some point, he indicates, "low-tension religious organizations" typically experience "declining membership."

What that implies or does not imply for contemporary believers -- for how their relationship with the surrounding world impacts their faith lives for the worse or the better -- is not a new issue. It is likely, however, that believers still will be debating it far into the future.

- - -

Gibson was the founding editor of Origins, Catholic News Service's documentary service. He retired in 2007 after holding that post for 36 years.





https://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=182546

Judge Extends Abortion-Clinic Law to Falun Gong

AMANDA OTTAWAY
Courthouse News Service
May 30, 2018

BROOKLYN, N.Y. (CN) – Setting the stage for a two-month trial, a federal judge ruledWednesday that the same law that bars the harassment of women seeking abortion services also applies to practitioners of the Chinese spiritual practice Falun Gong.

U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein emphasized in his order that the section on religious freedom was added “late in the legislative process to the 1994 law known as FACEA, short for the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.

While “every circuit court of appeals that has considered the issue” of the law’s protection of abortion clinics has upheld that section as constitutional, Weinstein noted that he appears to be the first to consider the constitutionality of the so-called religion section.

The challenge stems from a lawsuit in Brooklyn by Zhang Jingrong and a dozen other Falun Gong practitioners, who claim that they are routinely harassed in violation of FACEA by a group called Chinese Anti-Cult World Alliance.

While the Falun Gong practitioners contend that the alliance is an arm of the Chinese government, the alliance deny that Falun Gong is a religion.

The alliance brought its constitutional challenge to FACEA meanwhile after Judge Weinstein opted in a previous ruling to treat Falun Gong as religion for the purposes of the case.

Just a day after a hearing on the group’s argument, which turns on an alleged conflict between FACEA and the commerce clause, Weinstein rejected the bid Wednesday.

“Religion, even when nonprofit, is deeply rooted in interstate commerce,” the 38-page ruling states. “It comprises a sizable portion of the United States economy. Houses of religious worship offer numerous valuable services to their congregates, support a large number of personnel, take in and expend considerable funds, own large tracts of land, and receive free municipal services, such as schooling assistance, roads, and police protection. Huge religious educational institutions operating over the internet draw students and billions of dollars in revenue from all over the country. Religion substantially contributes to our gross national product. Congress could reasonably have concluded that violence and intimidation to keep people out of houses of worship would substantially adversely affect interstate commerce. FACEA is constitutional in its design to protect that national commerce.”

FACEA’s text speaks specifically to protecting religious freedoms at a place of worship, but Weinstein said later in the ruling that the law “should not … be given such a limited interpretation.

“As already explained, ‘a place of religious worship’ in FACEA must be construed broadly to avoid a constitutional issue under the First Amendment: that religions using formal temples are not privileged over those that do not,” he wrote.

Weinstein touched on a similar point Tuesday at oral arguments because the Falun Gong focuses its proselytizing work, and its protest of the Chinese government, from a group of tables that the group has set up on Main Street in Flushing, Queens.

The tables are adjacent to “what they consider to be one of their temples,” but Weinstein emphasized Tuesday that places of worship cannot be reduced “to brick and mortar.”

“That’s discrimination right there,” he added.

Weinstein also certified his opinion Wednesday to be appealed ahead of trial. Noting that the case will require interpreters, and put 500 decisions to a jury, the judge noted Tuesday that the Falun Gong’s case would be “horrendously difficult” to try.

Several of the plaintiffs sat in the jury box with an interpreter Tuesday as Weinstein and lawyers for both sides discussed their briefs. At the end of the hearing, through the interpreter, the judge emphasized to the parties in the jury box that “in this country, it’s important not to hurt somebody because you disagree with their religious beliefs.”

He encouraged the parties to resolve the case and spend their time enjoying spring in New York City.

The Falun Gong claims that thousands of its members were arrested in China and sentenced to re-education training after the government there banned it in 1999. Those who refuse to part with their beliefs are executed.

https://www.courthousenews.com/judge-extends-abortion-clinic-law-to-falun-gong/

Jehovah's Witness cannot appeal expulsion to a judge, Supreme Court rules

Several religious organizations took an active interest in the case

Jim Bronskill · The Canadian PressCBC.ca
May 31, 2018

A Jehovah's Witness who was expelled from a Calgary congregation cannot take his case to a judge, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled in a decision that affirms the general right of religious organizations to govern their own affairs.

In a 9-0 decision Thursday, the high court said the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench has no jurisdiction to review the congregation's decision to shun Randy Wall over alleged drunkenness and verbal abuse.

"In the end, religious groups are free to determine their own membership and rules," Justice Malcolm Rowe wrote in the decision, adding that courts will not intervene in such matters unless it is necessary to resolve an underlying legal dispute.

Religious and civil liberties organizations took an active interest in the case, given questions about the degree to which the courts can scrutinize decisions by faith-based bodies.

Wall, an independent realtor, was summoned in 2014 to appear before the judicial committee of the Highwood Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, a four-person panel of elders.

He admitted to two episodes of drunkenness and, on one of those occasions, verbally abusing his wife — wrongdoing he attributed to family stress over the earlier expulsion of his 15-year-old daughter from the congregation.
Not sufficiently repentant

The judicial committee told Wall, a congregation member since 1980, that he, too, would be expelled because he was not sufficiently repentant.

Members who are "disfellowshipped" may still attend congregational meetings, but they are permitted to speak only to immediate family members about non-spiritual matters.

An appeal committee upheld the decision, prompting Wall to pursue the matter in provincial court. He alleged the congregational judicial committee did not give him proper notice, an adequate opportunity to be heard or reasons for its decision.

The congregation argued that Wall's application for review should be tossed out because a secular court had no jurisdiction to review a religious tribunal's decision.

In a submission to the Court of Queen's Bench, Wall said that his real estate clients — about half of whom belonged to Jehovah's Witness congregations — refused to conduct business with him any longer.

Private parties cannot seek judicial review to solve disputes that may arise between them.- Decision

A judge concluded the court had jurisdiction to hear the case on the grounds that being shunned had an economic impact on Wall.

The provincial Court of Appeal upheld the decision, and the congregation then took its arguments to the Supreme Court.

In its decision, the high court said the purpose of judicial review is to ensure the legality of state decision-making. However, in this case, the congregational committee was not exercising statutory authority.

"Private parties cannot seek judicial review to solve disputes that may arise between them."

Courts may only interfere to address procedural fairness concerns about the decisions of religious groups or other voluntary associations if legal rights are at stake, Rowe wrote. Yet there was no evidence that Wall and the congregation had a contractual relationship.

Finally, the decision said, it is not appropriate for the courts to make decisions about religious tenets.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/jehovah-s-witnesses-supreme-court-1.4685553

Investigation Finds Children Working in Factory Packaging Beauty Products Sold at Major Retailers

Inside Edition Staff
May 31, 2018

VIDEO

American children have been found working in a factory packaging soaps and beauty products sold by major retail chains, an Inside Edition investigation has found.

In the investigation, which will air in full Friday, Inside Edition goes inside the Twelve Tribes community.

An Inside Edition producer went undercover at their commune in Cambridge, N.Y., and was allowed to access the property, where she found children working in the field.

One 6-year-old boy was picking potatoes and trying his best to handle a wheelbarrow.

Hidden cameras captured an 11-year-old girl working on a factory assembly line. We also found a 9-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl who worked in the factory.

The children package products for major brands like Acure and Savannah Bee, which are sold at well-known chain stores, including Amazon, Whole Foods, Target and Walmart.

In addition, a member also explained the methods used to keep their children under control.

"If a child isn't under control, they can't be taught," the member said. "It takes training. It takes the rod of authorities. It takes them being disciplined and spanked when they're not obedient."

The group denies they use child labor or abuse their children.

Savannah Bee said it opposes child labor and it received confirmation from its manufacturers that it follows all labor regulations. Acure told Inside Edition the allegations are "abhorrent" and it has now stopped doing business with the factory. Target is looking into what we found. Wal-Mart said they have blocked the Acure product from its website while they investigate. Amazon and Whole Foods had no comment.

Tune in to Inside Edition to see what happens when we catch up with one of the group's leaders. Check here for local listings.

https://www.insideedition.com/investigation-finds-children-working-factory-packaging-beauty-products-sold-major-retailers-43565