Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 28
Preceding the tragedies, their apocalyptic doctrine predicted cataclysmic upheavals that
threatened the planet with destruction. The earth was believed to be a living entity that
could no longer endure the ecological inflictions of humankind. Solar Temple members
believed themselves to be of ―‗the pivotal elite‘ which ‗has been removed from the collective
by superhuman effort‘‖ (Mayer, 1999: 188). Their goals included ―the release of the ‗inner
man‘ from the bonds of the world and his return to his native realm of light‖ (Mayer, 1999:
181). Messages from other dimensions told the group that Jupiter was their ―Next Home,‖
and exhorted them to ―put [their] last things in order to leave Earth free and clear‖ (Mayer,
1999: 183).
Internal dissent from members and former members as well as external opposition to the
group fueled the paranoia of one of the leaders, Joseph Di Mambro, and strengthened the
group‘s resolve to depart for a higher plain of existence (Mayer, 1999: 188).
After the first deaths were discovered, forensics clearly established that some were
murdered, while others submitted to execution voluntarily. Most had absorbed a strong
soporific before being shot. The core group had been injected with a poisonous substance
(Mayer, 1999: 191).
Before the tragedies of the Order of the Solar Temple, a newspaper article by Jean-Marc
Provost appeared under the sub-heading: ―Info-Secte: Refuse d‘Intervenir‖ and ―À Quoi Ça
Sert Info-Secte? (―Info-Cult: Refuses to Get Involved‖ and ―Of What Use is Info-Cult?‖)
Provost wrote that former member, Rose-Marie Klaus, came to Info-Cult for help only to be
turned away because, ―On m‘a répondu qu‘on n‘avait pas d‘argent pour s‘occuper de cette
affaire. Que je devais m‘arranger seule‖ (―They said they didn‘t have the money to handle
this affair. I should handle it myself.‖) (Provost, 1993: 6). Later in the same article under
the heading, ―Puisque Info-Secte ne Fait pas Son Job‖ (―Because Info-Cult isn‘t Doing Its
Job‖) (p. 7) readers were encouraged to contact the paper with their problems related to
cults because Info-Cult, according to Provost, was not doing its job.
After the tragedies, Hall and Schuyler (1997) wrote this about Klaus: ―One friend suggested
that Rose-Marie contact Info-Secte (or Info-Cult, as they call themselves in
English)...Whatever Casgrain [author‘s note: Yves Casgrain was Info-Cult‘s Research
Director at the time] made of Klaus‘s account, he took no public action‖ (p. 298).
Two years later, Jean-Francois Mayer offered this analysis of the circumstances in his
article, ―Our Terrestrial Journey is Coming to an End‖: The Last Voyage of the Solar Temple
(Mayer, 1999):
Oddly enough, in the end critical coverage did not come from Europe or
Canada, but from the island of Martinique: on 10 September 1991, Lucien
Zécler, president of the local branch of the Association for the Defense of
Families and Individuals (ADFI), the leading anti-cult movement of France,
sent a letter to several associations and centers in Quebec, asking for
information on the OTS. (p. 179)
Mayer, considered to be the foremost expert on the Solar Temple, continues:
While it cannot be doubted that the external opposition encountered by the
Solar Temple strengthened the resolve of its leaders to depart for a higher
plane of existence, the root of Di Mambro‘s decision to launch the process
which led to the ‗transit‘ is most closely connected to internal dissent (p.
188).
Up to this point, the reporting on Info-Cult‘s involvement was accurate. However, in a more
recent book (Wessinger, 2000), blame is heaped on Info-Cult. Whereas in previous

Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 29
assessments we play a minor role in the Solar Temple deaths, Wessinger writes in a section
titled, ―The Persecution‖:
In 1991, a disgruntled defector, Rose-Marie Klaus contacted a Montreal anti
cult organization, Info-Secte, which then put out a letter warning of the
dangers of the Solar Temple to other Quebec organizations. (p. 224)
As mentioned above it was Lucien Zecler of ADFI Martinique, not Info-Cult, who sent out the
letter. Yet according to Wessinger‘s inaccurate version of events, Info-Cult becomes, if not
a major contributor, at least partly responsible for pushing the OTS into making their fatal
decision. This is most unfortunate, for Wessinger‘s book is a major resource in this area.
Her error, which could have been avoided if the proper sources had been consulted,
contributes to the perpetuation of stereotypes about the ―anti-cult movement.‖
Médecins du Ciel
The ―médecins du ciel‖ refers to a number of healers/channelers who attracted attention in
the province of Quebec in the early 1990‘s. They counseled followers who had physical
ailments to believe their channeled ―medical‖ advice. Four followers eventually died and a
coroner‘s investigation into three of the deaths recommended that police investigate the
healers for criminal negligence. However, no charges were filed. They were subsequently
pursued by the College of Physicians and pleaded guilty to the illegal practice of medicine
and fined (Desjardins, 1994, March).
The channelers also predicted that certain areas of the province of Quebec were to be hit by
natural disasters and so they moved with a number of followers to a ―safe area‖ in the
Laurentians, a region north of the city of Montreal.
In his book, Massimo Introvigne (1996), using the ―médecins du ciel‖ as an example,
presents Info-Cult as a ―classic anti-cult‖ group. He writes,
Ils donnent alors lieu à un modèle complet et engendrent des insinuations
disant que beaucoup de nouveaux mouvements religieux pourraient être
―exactement comme l‘OTS.‖ Un bon exemple de ce que nous affirmons est
fourni par la réaction combinée, au Québec, du mouvement anti-sectes et de
la presse à la prédiction des guérisseurs Yves Bianchi (sic) et Moniques
Forgues (qui vivent avec une centaine de fidèles dans le village de Val-David
au Québec), selon laquelle un gigantesque déluge devait détruire les trois
quarts de la planète le 28 septembre 1995. (p. 232)
English translation:
It gives rise to a model that insinuates that a lot of new religious movements
could be ―exactly like the OTS.‖ A good example of this is provided by the
combined reaction of the anti-cult movement and the media, in Quebec, with
a prediction made by healers Yves Bianchi (sic) and Monique Forgues (who
live with about a hundred of their followers in the village of Val-David,
Quebec), that a giant flood would destroy three quarters of the planet on
September 28, 1995.
Introvigne continues,
...des opposants locaux, dans le village, et Info-Sectes (sic), une organisation
anti-sectes de Montréal, ont déclaré après le 28 septembre non seulement
que les deux guérisseurs animent ―une secte fermée ou l‘on pratique le
lavage de cerveau sur les membres vulnérables,‖ mais aussi que ― groupe
restreint de partisans inconditionnels du couple représente la plus grande
menace pour le Québec depuis l‘Ordre du Temple Solaire.‖