Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 231
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Death after Refusing Transfusion
Nigerian-born Jehovah’s Witness Patience Edema died in a London hospital late
last year after refusing a blood transfusion following the birth of her daughter and
an emergency hysterectomy. (This is London, Internet, 4/4/03)
Johanne Masowe Chishanu Apostolic Church
Followers ―Brainwashed‖
Supporters of Godfrey Nzira, a prominent Chitungwiza (Zimbabwe) spiritual healer in the
Johanne Masowe Chishanu Apostolic Church, recently illustrated how much he controls
them when they demonstrated violently at a local court—some of the women naked—
against his conviction and sentence to 32 years at hard labor for raping two of his female
followers.
Nzira is allegedly infected with HIV/AIDS and may have infected women who have come to
him for spiritual healing in his ―holy shrine.‖ (It is said that he does not know how AIDS is
transmitted.) One of the rape victims said that he threatened her with a bizarre illness if she
reported the attack.
It is a typical case of a cult that has ―brainwashed its followers into believing that Nzira was
actually God-sent‖ [says the author of this article]. Nzira threatened anyone who dared
challenge his authority. ―These followers will need serious counseling to unwind them from
this kind of brain terrorism,‖ said a former follower, who added that most members have
abandoned their families after accusing them of witchcraft.‖ (Ropafadzo Mapimhidze, The
Herald, Harare, Internet, 3/27/03)
Lucille Poulin
Nun Released from Jail
Lucille Poulin, the nun convicted and jailed for assaulting five children by spanking them
with a paddle in her Prince Edward Island religious commune last year, is set to leave jail.
And she has consulted a lawyer to advise her during a current police investigation into the
death of a young boy in the group. The boy died when his commune-member parents
refused to allow him to receive blood transfusions for a rare disorder.
Poulin‘s sentence was conditional on her not living with or caring for children under the age
of 14 for three years following her release. It‘s not clear where she will live when she leaves
prison, but a pregnant follower at the commune says that she and her husband will live
apart from Poulin, suggesting that Poulin would be free to return to the commune. (Jim
Day, Charlottetown Guardian, Internet, 4/15/03)
Magnificat Meal Movement
Cult Specialist Brought In
Irish cult specialist Mike Garde, an advisor to the Archbishop of Dublin on cults, and an exit
counselor, has arrived in Australia to look into the Magnificat Meal Movement, led by
self-proclaimed visionary Debra Geileskey, who ―infiltrated the Catholic Church in
Toowoomba in the early 1990s and expanded her recruitment to Ireland, the U.S., and the
Catholic Church. (Catholic News, Internet, 6/5/03)
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Death after Refusing Transfusion
Nigerian-born Jehovah’s Witness Patience Edema died in a London hospital late
last year after refusing a blood transfusion following the birth of her daughter and
an emergency hysterectomy. (This is London, Internet, 4/4/03)
Johanne Masowe Chishanu Apostolic Church
Followers ―Brainwashed‖
Supporters of Godfrey Nzira, a prominent Chitungwiza (Zimbabwe) spiritual healer in the
Johanne Masowe Chishanu Apostolic Church, recently illustrated how much he controls
them when they demonstrated violently at a local court—some of the women naked—
against his conviction and sentence to 32 years at hard labor for raping two of his female
followers.
Nzira is allegedly infected with HIV/AIDS and may have infected women who have come to
him for spiritual healing in his ―holy shrine.‖ (It is said that he does not know how AIDS is
transmitted.) One of the rape victims said that he threatened her with a bizarre illness if she
reported the attack.
It is a typical case of a cult that has ―brainwashed its followers into believing that Nzira was
actually God-sent‖ [says the author of this article]. Nzira threatened anyone who dared
challenge his authority. ―These followers will need serious counseling to unwind them from
this kind of brain terrorism,‖ said a former follower, who added that most members have
abandoned their families after accusing them of witchcraft.‖ (Ropafadzo Mapimhidze, The
Herald, Harare, Internet, 3/27/03)
Lucille Poulin
Nun Released from Jail
Lucille Poulin, the nun convicted and jailed for assaulting five children by spanking them
with a paddle in her Prince Edward Island religious commune last year, is set to leave jail.
And she has consulted a lawyer to advise her during a current police investigation into the
death of a young boy in the group. The boy died when his commune-member parents
refused to allow him to receive blood transfusions for a rare disorder.
Poulin‘s sentence was conditional on her not living with or caring for children under the age
of 14 for three years following her release. It‘s not clear where she will live when she leaves
prison, but a pregnant follower at the commune says that she and her husband will live
apart from Poulin, suggesting that Poulin would be free to return to the commune. (Jim
Day, Charlottetown Guardian, Internet, 4/15/03)
Magnificat Meal Movement
Cult Specialist Brought In
Irish cult specialist Mike Garde, an advisor to the Archbishop of Dublin on cults, and an exit
counselor, has arrived in Australia to look into the Magnificat Meal Movement, led by
self-proclaimed visionary Debra Geileskey, who ―infiltrated the Catholic Church in
Toowoomba in the early 1990s and expanded her recruitment to Ireland, the U.S., and the
Catholic Church. (Catholic News, Internet, 6/5/03)
