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

Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 2, 2006, Page 85
inquiry into their activities, which have included a campaign against his party in a recent
election because of its position on homosexuality and same-sex marriage. Brown called the
group a ―shadowy right-wing religious sect‖ that had ―invested heavily in politics.‖
Falun Gong
Former Canadian MP David Kilgore and human rights lawyer David Matas say they will
investigate allegations, mostly from Falun Gong practitioners, that China is executing Falun
Gong prisoners by the thousands in order to harvest their vital organs for transplantation.
Chinese health officials say organs from executed prisoners are used only rarely and only
with prior permission. ...The Falun Gong-linked media company Epoch Times, based in
New York, ―with its vast distribution and access to the Chinese community, presents a
unique and influential way to bring solidarity to an embattled religious group that aims to
have its voice heard,‖ according to Eugenia Chien, writing in New American Media
(5/16/06). Critics question Epoch Times’s objectivity.
Wang Weyi, the woman representing the U.S. Falun Gong newspaper Epoch Times who
heckled Chinese President Hu Jintao when he visited President Bush at the White House, has
reached a deal with prosecutors to drop charges against her of intimidating and threatening
the leaders during a press conference in April. Weyi had shouted, ―President Bush, stop him
[Hu Jintao] from killing [Falun Gong practitioners in China.]‖
Singapore has terminated a Chinese woman‘s work permit because she is a member of the
Falun Gong movement, reports Asia News, citing a press release from the Falun Dafa
Research Center, which claims that other Falun Gong followers in Singapore have suffered
similar treatment.
Chinese authorities have arrested publishers of Falun Gong literature in northeastern
Heilongjiang province. The action coincides with a nationwide move against producers of
pornographic material and pirated DVDs.
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS)
FLDS member Richard Holm tells how leader Warren Jeffs ―repossessed‖ Holm‘s two wives
— Jeff‘s daughters — and their seven children when Holm criticized his father-in-law.
Despite Holm‘s repenting, Jeffs gave the wives to Holm‘s brother. Dozens of FLDS men
have suffered such treatment. A basic FLDS religious text can be interpreted as sanctioning
the repossessing practice.
A former FLDS member confirms investigative reports that Warren Jeffs teaches the old
Mormon doctrine of blood atonement — killing an apostate in order to save his soul through
the shedding of his blood. Another former member says, ―Warren has been teaching for a
long time that those who are guilty of adultery must be blood-atoned.‖ Although it cannot
be implemented now because the government won‘t allow it, Jeffs allegedly says followers
will be able to practice the policy in the future.
The Utah Attorney General has produced The Primer, a 56-page guide to polygamous towns
in Utah and surrounding states. It deals with the history and sociology of the communities
and includes a glossary of special terms residents used to describe aspects of their society,
definitions of domestic violence, state criminal codes, and a report on the psychological
impact of polygamy on women and children.
The Tapestry Against Polygamy organization thinks The Primer endorses polygamy, that it‘s
―one more attempt to normalize polygamy.‖ Social worker Marsdon says The Primer ―has
created a dialogue within the polygamous community and with the government and social
services. It opened my mind to how many people live the lifestyle. There‘s like 50 groups. I
had no idea. It told me some of the history that I didn‘t know. For example, this group (the
Kingstons) doesn‘t dress in bonnets and long dresses.‖