Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 7, No. 3, 2008, Page 72
Many of his followers appear to be teenagers and young adults who are leaving mainline
Pentecostal churches ―in search of spontaneous physical healing and a desire to be part of a
mystical community marked by dancing, shouting, gyrating, speaking in tongues and other
forms of ecstatic release.‖ Many are drawn by the group‘s presence on Facebook and
MySpace. ―Fathers wail in tongues as their confused children look on.‖
The 2006 documentary Jesus Camp shows grade school-aged children in army fatigues at a
North Dakota camp inspired by Joel‘s Army ideology brandishing swords on field maneuvers.
―A lot of people die for God and they‘re not afraid,‖ says one, and another adds: ―We‘re
kinda being trained to be warriors.‖ The woman who runs the camp says that one third of
the campers are under six years of age because they‘re ―more in touch with the
supernatural.‖
Former members of Kingdom Center, a congregation led by pastor Christer Segerliv, in
southern Sweden, say it is a cult that performs exorcisms, demands total subjugation of
members, and takes children out of school to work at the group‘s cowboy-themed Lone Star
park and conference center, near Malmö. Segerliv, who denies the allegations, calls himself
the Sheriff of Lone Star.
Roman Catholic Archbishop Edwin O‘Brien, of Baltimore, has issued a set of directives
regarding the Legionaries of Christ and its lay movement, Regnum Christi, demanding
an accounting from them of all personnel and activities in the archdiocese, and barring the
two groups from one-on-one spiritual counseling with anyone under the age of 18.
O‘Brien is concerned that the Legionaries and Regnum Christi practice ―heavily persuasive
methods on young people, especially high schoolers, regarding vocations.‖ Both groups,
part of the constellation of ―new movements‖ within Catholicism, are known for their
missionary zeal. He directed the two organizations to inform the archdiocese of summer
programs they run and provide the names of participants, as well as the names of
candidates for the priesthood or religious life, so that the information can be reviewed ―with
the parents and pastors of these candidates. I want to ensure that encouragement of
vocations is carried out in a way that respects the rights of parents in the upbringing of their
children and the rights of young persons themselves to be able to make free and fully
informed decisions about their futures.
―There seems to be a tendency, in one-on-one counseling,‖ O‘Brien added, ―to say: ‗We
represent God. You can tell us anything, and you better believe that what we tell you is
from God, too. If your parents disagree, we know better. We‘re in the God business, and
they‘re really not.‘ This is a caricature, but it‘s there.‖ O‘Brien went on, during his long
interview with the National Catholic reporter, to say he believes that the problem with the
Legionaries can‘t be fixed because they‘re ―so deeply ingrained. There‘s a sense of secrecy
right from the seminary. The seminarians move two-by-two wherever they go. If one
criticizes anything about the institution, the other one has to report it ...All this flows into
Regnum Christi as well. Nothing happens in Regnum Christi without the Legionaries.‖
William Kamm, known as Little Pebble, who claimed to be the Messiah, has lost his
appeal to be released from a New South Wales prison, where he is serving a term of no less
that 3.5 years following a conviction for raping and assaulting a teenager, his ―mystical
wife,‖ in 1993.
Michael Travesser, a former sailor, Seventh Day Adventist minister, and self-proclaimed
―Son of God,‖ is leading a group of acolytes in The Lord Our Righteousness Church in
Strong City, New Mexico, and waiting for the imminent end of the world. He has sex with
the women in the group — who welcome the opportunity — including his daughter-in-law,
whose husband says, unconvincingly, that it‘s a great honor. Parents who‗ve left the cult try
to persuade their children to follow them out, but those who do leave find it difficult to
Many of his followers appear to be teenagers and young adults who are leaving mainline
Pentecostal churches ―in search of spontaneous physical healing and a desire to be part of a
mystical community marked by dancing, shouting, gyrating, speaking in tongues and other
forms of ecstatic release.‖ Many are drawn by the group‘s presence on Facebook and
MySpace. ―Fathers wail in tongues as their confused children look on.‖
The 2006 documentary Jesus Camp shows grade school-aged children in army fatigues at a
North Dakota camp inspired by Joel‘s Army ideology brandishing swords on field maneuvers.
―A lot of people die for God and they‘re not afraid,‖ says one, and another adds: ―We‘re
kinda being trained to be warriors.‖ The woman who runs the camp says that one third of
the campers are under six years of age because they‘re ―more in touch with the
supernatural.‖
Former members of Kingdom Center, a congregation led by pastor Christer Segerliv, in
southern Sweden, say it is a cult that performs exorcisms, demands total subjugation of
members, and takes children out of school to work at the group‘s cowboy-themed Lone Star
park and conference center, near Malmö. Segerliv, who denies the allegations, calls himself
the Sheriff of Lone Star.
Roman Catholic Archbishop Edwin O‘Brien, of Baltimore, has issued a set of directives
regarding the Legionaries of Christ and its lay movement, Regnum Christi, demanding
an accounting from them of all personnel and activities in the archdiocese, and barring the
two groups from one-on-one spiritual counseling with anyone under the age of 18.
O‘Brien is concerned that the Legionaries and Regnum Christi practice ―heavily persuasive
methods on young people, especially high schoolers, regarding vocations.‖ Both groups,
part of the constellation of ―new movements‖ within Catholicism, are known for their
missionary zeal. He directed the two organizations to inform the archdiocese of summer
programs they run and provide the names of participants, as well as the names of
candidates for the priesthood or religious life, so that the information can be reviewed ―with
the parents and pastors of these candidates. I want to ensure that encouragement of
vocations is carried out in a way that respects the rights of parents in the upbringing of their
children and the rights of young persons themselves to be able to make free and fully
informed decisions about their futures.
―There seems to be a tendency, in one-on-one counseling,‖ O‘Brien added, ―to say: ‗We
represent God. You can tell us anything, and you better believe that what we tell you is
from God, too. If your parents disagree, we know better. We‘re in the God business, and
they‘re really not.‘ This is a caricature, but it‘s there.‖ O‘Brien went on, during his long
interview with the National Catholic reporter, to say he believes that the problem with the
Legionaries can‘t be fixed because they‘re ―so deeply ingrained. There‘s a sense of secrecy
right from the seminary. The seminarians move two-by-two wherever they go. If one
criticizes anything about the institution, the other one has to report it ...All this flows into
Regnum Christi as well. Nothing happens in Regnum Christi without the Legionaries.‖
William Kamm, known as Little Pebble, who claimed to be the Messiah, has lost his
appeal to be released from a New South Wales prison, where he is serving a term of no less
that 3.5 years following a conviction for raping and assaulting a teenager, his ―mystical
wife,‖ in 1993.
Michael Travesser, a former sailor, Seventh Day Adventist minister, and self-proclaimed
―Son of God,‖ is leading a group of acolytes in The Lord Our Righteousness Church in
Strong City, New Mexico, and waiting for the imminent end of the world. He has sex with
the women in the group — who welcome the opportunity — including his daughter-in-law,
whose husband says, unconvincingly, that it‘s a great honor. Parents who‗ve left the cult try
to persuade their children to follow them out, but those who do leave find it difficult to
