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community so that they don‘t compete with older men for wives.] They usually end up living
on the streets. ..
―B.C.‘s (soon to be retired) attorney general has refused to even investigate the allegations of
child trafficking [of young potential wives among Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints communities] and the admitted practice of polygamy. Our federal
justice minister, Irwin Cotler ...was very explicit in speaking about trafficking: Canada‘s
policy is, and I quote, ‗Protection, prosecution, prevention.‘
―So I call on him, and on our community, to ask for protection for the ‗lost boys‘ ousted from
this cult, for prosecution of polygamists, and for prevention of this odious cult from continuing
to share our country while flouting its laws. I call on the federal government to enforce the
law, to go to Bountiful, to investigate, and to proceed to remove these people from our
midst.‖ (Jean M. Gerber, Canadian Jewish News, Internet, 5/11/05)
Branch Davidians
TV Biography of Koresh
A&E TV has produced a biography of Branch Davidian leader David Koresh. ―We explore his
brilliant evangelical skills, [his] decree that women followers have sex with him, and [his]
showdown with Attorney General Janet Reno.‖ (Info-Secte, Internet, 3/19/05)
Calvary Christian Church
Parents Say Pastor Brainwashed Daughter
John and Dinah Stroich, of Shelby Township, MI, have been excommunicated by the Calvary
Christian Church for carrying out a campaign to remove the Rev. Mark Byers, whom they
accuse of influencing their 18-year-old scholar-athlete daughter, Ashleigh, to give up her
family, friends, and college plans to become the ―Stepford wife‖ of Byers‘ youngest son,
Justin, 19. Byers says the now grown-up Ashleigh is an adult, and calls the allegations that
he‘s running a cult ludicrous.
After beginning to date Justin, Ashleigh left her Christian school to attend another that is
linked to one run by Calvary Christian, and soon began to denounce her mother for working
outside the home. Her grades went down. She reportedly told her parents that her old
school was too liberal and demanding, and that she had decided not to attend college. She
eventually left home and now refuses to speak with them unless they repent. ―If they‘re
committed to the religion, they need to be under a pastor,‖ she says. ―They never learned
submission, yet they expect it out of me.‖ (Catherine Kavenaugh, Daily Oakland Press,
Internet, 3/24/05)
Colonia Dignidad (Villa Baviera)
Leader’s Control Diminished in Absentia
Colonia Dignidad founder and leader Paul Schafer’s power over members weakened, when
he fled from Chile to Argentina in 1998, because ―he could no longer punish people himself or
have drugs administered to them to control their lives,‖ according to Hernan Fernandez, the
lawyer who filed sexual abuse charges against Schafer. ―But now that he is in prison, the
psychological threat, the fear that he would come back to punish those rebelling against him,
has evaporated.‖
Authorities say they didn‘t move against ―Permanent Uncle‖ Schafer sooner because they
feared a mass suicide. Psychiatrist Luis Peebles, a political prisoner [of Chilean dictator
Pinochet] held at the anti-communist anti-Semitic Colonia Dignidad in the 1970s, said that
followers ―are accomplices to horrendous crimes, yes, but they have been programmed like
robots and were treated as slaves, robbed of their own human rights. It is hard for the victims

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of these abuses to recognize what befell them, and so they take refuge in silence and denial.‖
(Larry Rohter, New York Times, Internet, 5/16/05)
Education
National Conference on Cults
Brooklyn, MN, will be the site in May for an educational conference entitled ―Cults and
Culture: Discerning Truth in Our Time,‖ at Brooklyn Park Evangelical Church. It will include
former cult members telling their stories, a workshop for families, and presentations by Dr.
Paul Martin and Robert Pardon, who direct centers devoted to the rehabilitation of former cult
members. (Patrick Thornton, Minnesota Sun, 4/28/05)
Faith Healing
The Role of Faith in Healing
Consideration of the patient‘s religious beliefs seems to be growing in contemporary
medicine, especially in certain hospital settings. The case of a Minnesota Hmong family,
which practices the traditional faith healing of its native Viet Nam, illustrates the
association. A physician told a family that its mother would die unless the pressure of blood
on her brain was relieved through surgery. They preferred to perform a religious healing
instead. A Christian surgeon told them he supported this attempt to cure, adding that they
should come to him if they failed. They were unable to cure the woman, but felt the ritual
had cleared the way for the surgery that soon returned her to health. The episode illustrates
modern medical treatment taking into account a spiritual dimension. (Charles Duhigg, Los
Angeles Times, Internet, 2/28/05)
Freeman Group
Creating Group Identity
Former followers of Bill and Patsy Freeman, founders of the Freeman Group, say the
couple‘s creation of a ―corporate identity‖ led to many broken marriages and shattered local
churches. The ex-members say that the Freemans, who have now brought their ministry to
the Spokane area, employ ―love bombing‖ followed by ―concentrated indoctrination‖ to
teach that loyalty to the Freemans equals loyalty to God.
Patsy Freeman controlled every detail of the lives of women in the circle around her she
told them what color to paint their houses, when to do their laundry, and how to clean their
homes. They also reported to her each other‘s deviance from the lifestyle rules she set up.
A woman who grew up in the group described how the Freemans conducted ―burnings‖ of
possessions — including stuffed animals and pictures of relatives — which were said to
obstruct their spirituality. (Chris Collins, Whitworthian [Whitworth College], Internet,
2/22/05)
Former Follower Tells of Being Controlled
In a published warning to the community about the cult-like ministry of Bill and Patsy
Freeman, now operating in the Spokane area, Steve Kirk says that life in the group — he
joined at the age of 20, in 1970, and remained until 1979 — ―consisted of unwritten rules
and authoritarian shepherding of all aspects of our daily lives by more experienced
members. We were counseled to cut ties with our past life, family, and friends.‖ Kirk says
that Patsy Freeman, in 1972, persuaded a young woman in the group to drop out in her
senior year in college and marry him. The new bride, Deborah — who is still married to Kirk
— then became the housekeeper and cook not only for him but for 10 single male Freeman
followers. ―It wasn‘t until we were kicked out of the group in 1979 [no explanation given]
that we realized how brainwashed we had been.‖ (The Whitworthian, Internet, 4/5/05)