Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2002, Page 58
Aylmer Church of God
Couple Reasserts Right to Spank
The Aylmer, Ontario, couple who had seven children temporarily taken away from them
because of their fundamentalist Christian belief in corporal punishment, say they will defy a
court order that prohibits them from spanking the kids. In a written statement to media, the
couple, who remain unidentified to protect the children, said the youngsters, aged 6 to 14,
were traumatized by being removed by family services officials and police July 4.
"We maintain the right to pursue our personal religious convictions based on the word of
God, the Bible. As a result, we will no longer comply with ...the agreement," they wrote. "It
constitutes an infringement on our right to preserve our religious freedom. We have
mutually reached this conclusion based on the word of God, of our own free will, and
without coercion from the church."
Pastor Henry Hildebrandt, of the Church of God, whose teachings ask parents to discipline
children by striking them with a rod or switch — rather than the hand, which is reserved for
kindness — said: "Because of the teaching of the Bible, the church could no longer
encourage the family to abide by the interim agreement, because the hearing [on the
matter] was being postponed and postponed."
The agreement also bars the parents from taking the kids out of Ontario and requires them
to accept counselling to learn "alternate methods of discipline." Hildebrandt said the church
has no problem with those stipulations but is opposed to social workers making
unannounced visits, which he says have "severely psychologically traumatized" the children.
(Toronto Star, 12/10/01, Internet)
Aylmer Church of God Corporal Punishment Case Standoff
A child welfare agency's bid to stop Aylmer Church of God pastor Henry Hildebrandt from
counseling two members of his congregation on corporal punishment issues was rejected by
Ontario family court judge Michael O'Dea.
The agency also asked O'Dea to find the couple in contempt of court over a statement they
released to the media indicating their religious beliefs stopped them from complying further
with a court order that prohibits physical discipline until the case is resolved. The judge
rejected both applications, but ordered everyone involved in the controversial case to stop
talking to the media. He also ordered the parents to prevent their children from being
contacted by reporters and from receiving electronic mail from supporters outside their
congregation.
The couple's seven children, aged six to 14, were removed kicking and screaming from their
home last summer by social workers supported by police. Two weeks later, a judge ordered
the children released, pending a final court decision last fall. One of the terms of release
was a temporary prohibition on physical discipline. But autumn came and went without a
decision, prompting Hildebrandt to announce last month—with support from his church's
international council—that he was no longer advising the parents to comply with the
spanking prohibition. The couple released a statement of their own, indicating the
restriction infringed on their personal religious convictions and they could no longer comply.
(Christian Week Online, 1/22/02, Internet)
The Body
State Takes Custody of Sect Child – Jacques Robidoux /The Body
Massachusetts has been granted temporary custody of a baby believed born to Rebecca
Corneau, the member of an Attleboro religious sect, whose stillborn son was secretly buried
in Maine in 1999, along with his stillborn cousin, Samuel Robidoux. Prosecutors allege, in
Aylmer Church of God
Couple Reasserts Right to Spank
The Aylmer, Ontario, couple who had seven children temporarily taken away from them
because of their fundamentalist Christian belief in corporal punishment, say they will defy a
court order that prohibits them from spanking the kids. In a written statement to media, the
couple, who remain unidentified to protect the children, said the youngsters, aged 6 to 14,
were traumatized by being removed by family services officials and police July 4.
"We maintain the right to pursue our personal religious convictions based on the word of
God, the Bible. As a result, we will no longer comply with ...the agreement," they wrote. "It
constitutes an infringement on our right to preserve our religious freedom. We have
mutually reached this conclusion based on the word of God, of our own free will, and
without coercion from the church."
Pastor Henry Hildebrandt, of the Church of God, whose teachings ask parents to discipline
children by striking them with a rod or switch — rather than the hand, which is reserved for
kindness — said: "Because of the teaching of the Bible, the church could no longer
encourage the family to abide by the interim agreement, because the hearing [on the
matter] was being postponed and postponed."
The agreement also bars the parents from taking the kids out of Ontario and requires them
to accept counselling to learn "alternate methods of discipline." Hildebrandt said the church
has no problem with those stipulations but is opposed to social workers making
unannounced visits, which he says have "severely psychologically traumatized" the children.
(Toronto Star, 12/10/01, Internet)
Aylmer Church of God Corporal Punishment Case Standoff
A child welfare agency's bid to stop Aylmer Church of God pastor Henry Hildebrandt from
counseling two members of his congregation on corporal punishment issues was rejected by
Ontario family court judge Michael O'Dea.
The agency also asked O'Dea to find the couple in contempt of court over a statement they
released to the media indicating their religious beliefs stopped them from complying further
with a court order that prohibits physical discipline until the case is resolved. The judge
rejected both applications, but ordered everyone involved in the controversial case to stop
talking to the media. He also ordered the parents to prevent their children from being
contacted by reporters and from receiving electronic mail from supporters outside their
congregation.
The couple's seven children, aged six to 14, were removed kicking and screaming from their
home last summer by social workers supported by police. Two weeks later, a judge ordered
the children released, pending a final court decision last fall. One of the terms of release
was a temporary prohibition on physical discipline. But autumn came and went without a
decision, prompting Hildebrandt to announce last month—with support from his church's
international council—that he was no longer advising the parents to comply with the
spanking prohibition. The couple released a statement of their own, indicating the
restriction infringed on their personal religious convictions and they could no longer comply.
(Christian Week Online, 1/22/02, Internet)
The Body
State Takes Custody of Sect Child – Jacques Robidoux /The Body
Massachusetts has been granted temporary custody of a baby believed born to Rebecca
Corneau, the member of an Attleboro religious sect, whose stillborn son was secretly buried
in Maine in 1999, along with his stillborn cousin, Samuel Robidoux. Prosecutors allege, in
