Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2002, Page 74
The teen-agers were members of a paramilitary group allegedly headed by Sue that called
itself OARA -Operation and Reconnaissance Agents. Members have claimed it was aligned
with a political organization in Guyana, but authorities have disputed that, alleging that Sue
told Grimes and Matheny to kill the Dutchers because they were racist. (AP, 3/14/02,
Internet.
For background on alleged "cultic" aspects of this case, see "Youthful Cultic Leadership, and
Murder," The Cult Observer (predecessor of Cultic Studies Review) Vol. 18, No. 3, p. 9.
Opus Dei
Opus Dei Gains Prestige /Italy
Indicating the growing power and prestige within the Catholic Church of the Opus Dei
organization was the turnout at a congress in Rome in January to mark the 100th
anniversary of the birth of the group's founder, Josemaria Escriva. Pope John Paul II was
among 1200 participants, and the Italian government unveiled a postage stamp in Escriva's
honor.
Critics accuse Opus Dei of being a fundamentalist sect with a conservative political agenda
intent on promoting a rigid form of Catholicism. But the most pointed attacks have come
from several former members who allege that Opus Dei is a cult that brainwashes its
members and conducts its affairs in secret. In 1981, allegations of this kind led the then
head of the Catholic church in England, Cardinal Basil Hume, to forbid the group from
recruiting members under the age of 18, and in 1986, to the Italian parliament demanding a
government inquiry into the group's operations. (The inquiry exonerated Opus Dei of any
illegal conduct.) In recent years, on the other hand, some people involved in Opus Dei have
said that the experience has enriched their spiritual lives. (Sydney Morning Herald,
Australia, 1/22/02, Internet)
Polygamy
Activists Call for End of Polygamy Abuses
The following is excerpted from a February 5 press release produced by The Polygamy
Justice Project, The Child Protection Project, and The International Human Rights Clinic
(IHRC) of the New York University School of Law Clinical Program.
Activists are demanding that the United States put a stop to the serious human rights
abuses against women and children that are being carried out in the name of religious
freedom by polygamists in Utah ...and neighboring states. They say that women and girls
in polygamous communities are subjected to a pattern of abuses that violate not only U.S.
law, but also U.S. obligations under international law. Federal and state governments have
not adequately enforced the law, advocates charge, allowing to go unpunished abuses such
as incest, violence, child marriage, trafficking in girls, coerced marriage of adult women,
sexual abuse, and the denial of education and access to information.
"As U.S. citizens, we like to believe that we are on the cutting edge of progress as a society.
But women and children in polygamous communities in the U.S. are suffering daily from
human rights violations that the perpetrators claim are justified by their religious beliefs,"
said Laura Chapman, director of the Colorado-based Polygamy Justice Project. "No religious
belief excuses the reality."
Polygamy Experience
Chapman, who fled from a fundamentalist Mormon group 10 years ago, is all too familiar
with the "crippling" effects of life in these communities. "Whenever I describe practices that
were considered normal within my family and our polygamous community, people can't
believe that this could be happening in the U.S. in the 21st century," said Chapman, whose
The teen-agers were members of a paramilitary group allegedly headed by Sue that called
itself OARA -Operation and Reconnaissance Agents. Members have claimed it was aligned
with a political organization in Guyana, but authorities have disputed that, alleging that Sue
told Grimes and Matheny to kill the Dutchers because they were racist. (AP, 3/14/02,
Internet.
For background on alleged "cultic" aspects of this case, see "Youthful Cultic Leadership, and
Murder," The Cult Observer (predecessor of Cultic Studies Review) Vol. 18, No. 3, p. 9.
Opus Dei
Opus Dei Gains Prestige /Italy
Indicating the growing power and prestige within the Catholic Church of the Opus Dei
organization was the turnout at a congress in Rome in January to mark the 100th
anniversary of the birth of the group's founder, Josemaria Escriva. Pope John Paul II was
among 1200 participants, and the Italian government unveiled a postage stamp in Escriva's
honor.
Critics accuse Opus Dei of being a fundamentalist sect with a conservative political agenda
intent on promoting a rigid form of Catholicism. But the most pointed attacks have come
from several former members who allege that Opus Dei is a cult that brainwashes its
members and conducts its affairs in secret. In 1981, allegations of this kind led the then
head of the Catholic church in England, Cardinal Basil Hume, to forbid the group from
recruiting members under the age of 18, and in 1986, to the Italian parliament demanding a
government inquiry into the group's operations. (The inquiry exonerated Opus Dei of any
illegal conduct.) In recent years, on the other hand, some people involved in Opus Dei have
said that the experience has enriched their spiritual lives. (Sydney Morning Herald,
Australia, 1/22/02, Internet)
Polygamy
Activists Call for End of Polygamy Abuses
The following is excerpted from a February 5 press release produced by The Polygamy
Justice Project, The Child Protection Project, and The International Human Rights Clinic
(IHRC) of the New York University School of Law Clinical Program.
Activists are demanding that the United States put a stop to the serious human rights
abuses against women and children that are being carried out in the name of religious
freedom by polygamists in Utah ...and neighboring states. They say that women and girls
in polygamous communities are subjected to a pattern of abuses that violate not only U.S.
law, but also U.S. obligations under international law. Federal and state governments have
not adequately enforced the law, advocates charge, allowing to go unpunished abuses such
as incest, violence, child marriage, trafficking in girls, coerced marriage of adult women,
sexual abuse, and the denial of education and access to information.
"As U.S. citizens, we like to believe that we are on the cutting edge of progress as a society.
But women and children in polygamous communities in the U.S. are suffering daily from
human rights violations that the perpetrators claim are justified by their religious beliefs,"
said Laura Chapman, director of the Colorado-based Polygamy Justice Project. "No religious
belief excuses the reality."
Polygamy Experience
Chapman, who fled from a fundamentalist Mormon group 10 years ago, is all too familiar
with the "crippling" effects of life in these communities. "Whenever I describe practices that
were considered normal within my family and our polygamous community, people can't
believe that this could be happening in the U.S. in the 21st century," said Chapman, whose
