Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 2, 2006, Page 84
News Summaries
Aum Shinrikyo/Aleph
Aum Shinrikyo (Aleph) leader Fumihiro Joyu, saying it will be difficult to bridge the gap
between Aum groups that are for and against him, has suggested splitting the
organization‘s financial assets and facilities with the opposition while he reviews religious
principles and training systems as a prelude to launching a new group. ..Authorities see
Joyu‘s conjectured plan as a way to ―evade application of the Group Control Law and survive
as a new religious organization.‖ Some say his faction, which amounts to some twenty
percent, or 1,600 members — another twenty percent make up the anti-Joyu faction —
seeks to diminish the influence of founder Shoko Asahara, now jailed and appealing a
death sentence. Joyu told followers, ―If we make a new religious organization, we will never
make a person into a god.‖ ...Asahara‘s lawyers have filed an appeal of his conviction and
death sentence with the Supreme Court on the ground that he suffers from ―pathological
mental stress‖ caused by confinement and was unfit for the trial that found him guilty. The
Tokyo High Court rejected a similar appeal on his behalf in March.
The Body
Roland Robidoux, head of The Body, the Attleboro, MA, group whose teachings led to the
starvation death of an infant — and the murder conviction of the child‘s father — died at the
group‘s home in mid-May, apparently of natural causes.
Boot Camps
The recently enacted law regulating Boot Camps run by the state of Florida, stimulated by
the beating death of a 14-year-old inmate, requires the new Sheriff‘s Training and Respect
programs to put more emphasis on treatment and rehabilitation, forbids ―harmful
psychological intimidation techniques,‖ and bans the use of weapons such as pepper spray
and Tasers, and ammonia capsules.
Caritas of Birmingham
A Shelby county Alabama judge in July sentenced Phillip J. Kronzer to 15 hours in jail for
making derogatory statements, in violation of a court order, about the Caritas organization,
led by Terry Colafrancesco. Kronzar is a California businessman who ―declared war on
cults‖ when his wife left him for Caritas, an organization dedicated to hosting a Bosnian
Catholic visionary [and the pilgrims who come to see her.]
Kronzer, who admitted posting derogatory material on his website about Colafrancesco and
his lawyers, has been ordered to pay them $225,000 for breaching a settlement agreement
not to discuss the case.
Colonia Dignidad
Paul Schaefer, the former authoritarian leader of Colonia Dignidad (now called Villa
Baviera), the Chilean cult made up mostly of post-World War II German immigrants, has
been found guilty of sexually abusing 25 children and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He
was also ordered to pay $1.4 million to his victims. The rabidly anti-communist and anti-
Semitic Schaefer still faces human rights charges in connection with his aid to the Pinochet
regime. Followers who still live in Colonia Dignidad, many of whom are said to have
psychological problems due to isolation from the outside world, want charges against them
dropped, saying that the control Schaefer exercised absolves them of responsibility.
Exclusive Brethren
Exclusive Brethren followers in Melbourne, Australia, have threatened Green political
party leader Bob Brown with ―eternal damnation‖ if he goes forward with a parliamentary
News Summaries
Aum Shinrikyo/Aleph
Aum Shinrikyo (Aleph) leader Fumihiro Joyu, saying it will be difficult to bridge the gap
between Aum groups that are for and against him, has suggested splitting the
organization‘s financial assets and facilities with the opposition while he reviews religious
principles and training systems as a prelude to launching a new group. ..Authorities see
Joyu‘s conjectured plan as a way to ―evade application of the Group Control Law and survive
as a new religious organization.‖ Some say his faction, which amounts to some twenty
percent, or 1,600 members — another twenty percent make up the anti-Joyu faction —
seeks to diminish the influence of founder Shoko Asahara, now jailed and appealing a
death sentence. Joyu told followers, ―If we make a new religious organization, we will never
make a person into a god.‖ ...Asahara‘s lawyers have filed an appeal of his conviction and
death sentence with the Supreme Court on the ground that he suffers from ―pathological
mental stress‖ caused by confinement and was unfit for the trial that found him guilty. The
Tokyo High Court rejected a similar appeal on his behalf in March.
The Body
Roland Robidoux, head of The Body, the Attleboro, MA, group whose teachings led to the
starvation death of an infant — and the murder conviction of the child‘s father — died at the
group‘s home in mid-May, apparently of natural causes.
Boot Camps
The recently enacted law regulating Boot Camps run by the state of Florida, stimulated by
the beating death of a 14-year-old inmate, requires the new Sheriff‘s Training and Respect
programs to put more emphasis on treatment and rehabilitation, forbids ―harmful
psychological intimidation techniques,‖ and bans the use of weapons such as pepper spray
and Tasers, and ammonia capsules.
Caritas of Birmingham
A Shelby county Alabama judge in July sentenced Phillip J. Kronzer to 15 hours in jail for
making derogatory statements, in violation of a court order, about the Caritas organization,
led by Terry Colafrancesco. Kronzar is a California businessman who ―declared war on
cults‖ when his wife left him for Caritas, an organization dedicated to hosting a Bosnian
Catholic visionary [and the pilgrims who come to see her.]
Kronzer, who admitted posting derogatory material on his website about Colafrancesco and
his lawyers, has been ordered to pay them $225,000 for breaching a settlement agreement
not to discuss the case.
Colonia Dignidad
Paul Schaefer, the former authoritarian leader of Colonia Dignidad (now called Villa
Baviera), the Chilean cult made up mostly of post-World War II German immigrants, has
been found guilty of sexually abusing 25 children and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He
was also ordered to pay $1.4 million to his victims. The rabidly anti-communist and anti-
Semitic Schaefer still faces human rights charges in connection with his aid to the Pinochet
regime. Followers who still live in Colonia Dignidad, many of whom are said to have
psychological problems due to isolation from the outside world, want charges against them
dropped, saying that the control Schaefer exercised absolves them of responsibility.
Exclusive Brethren
Exclusive Brethren followers in Melbourne, Australia, have threatened Green political
party leader Bob Brown with ―eternal damnation‖ if he goes forward with a parliamentary
