Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 8, No. 1, 1991, Page 14
federal and state authorities.”72 A revised version of that code was discussed at Boston
University, under the leadership of the Reverend Robert Thornburg, Dean of Marsh Chapel,
and approved as an official statement by the Boston University Christian Chaplains on June
21, 1988.73
The Catholic Church has also been forced to differentiate its legitimate splinter groups from
destructive religious cults in order to insure that its own behavior does not become cult-like.
Pointing out the Vatican Council II Declaration on Religious Liberty and its Decree on
Missionary Activity, Father James LeBar asserts that while “groups have a right to seek new
members … they have no right to use deception, high pressure, and guilt to force the
decision of an individual.”74
In the nineteenth century the Church stepped in to correct the results of “excessive
proselytizing” by Theodore Ratisbonne, a Jewish convert to Catholicism75 when he used
deceptive means to baptize Jewish children without their parents‟ knowledge or consent.76
Today the Church has to grapple with accusations that the fervently religious Catholic
organization, Opus Dei, is a cult.77 In December, 1981 Basil Cardinal Hume issued
guidelines for that group in his Archdiocese in Great Britain, stating that no one under
eighteen years of age should be allowed to make a long-term commitment to Opus Dei, the
commitment should be first discussed with parent or guardians, the individual must be free
to leave the organization and to choose his or her own spiritual director, and the group‟s
sponsorship and management should be made clear.78 And on November 4, 1986, the late
Bishop of Brooklyn, Francis John Mugavero, released a “Declaration Concerning the Bayside
Movement,” which discusses the claims that a Queens, New York woman, Veronica Leuken,
has been witnessing apparitions of the Virgin Mary during “vigils” in Flushing Meadow Park.
Bishop Mugavero instructs that the visions are not authentic and legitimate Church authority
does not condone participation in these “vigils” or disseminating or reading literature about
them.79
Mainstream Study and Action
The cult phenomenon has stirred many religious leaders to carefully study the new religious
movements. In 1983 an International Conference on Destructive Cults in Linz, Austria
sponsored by the Lutheran Church of Austria drew prominent Church leader-participants
from Western Europe.80 The Church of England instituted an investigation of the London-
based cult-like School of Economic Science in 1983 after complaints were aired at the
Church‟s General Synod81 and received from clergy in several other countries.82 Prominent
clergy and religious studies academicians have participated in sociological conferences on
cults such as that held at the Continuing Education Center at the University of Nebraska in
March of 1984.83 Many attended the conference entitled, “Cultism: A Conference for
Scholars and Policy Makers” sponsored by the American Family Foundation, the
Neuropsychiatric Institute of the University of California at Los Angeles, and The Johnson
Foundation, which was held at the Johnson Foundation‟s Wingspread Conference Center in
Racine, Wisconsin in September, 1985.84
Concern about the dangers of cults to their members and to a democratic society has
prompted some religious leaders to embark on aggressive programs to counter them. In
December of 1976, officials of the American Jewish Committee, The National Council of
Churches, and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York held a joint press conference
declaring the Unification Church and Sun Myung Moon‟s writings to be “anti-democratic,
anti-Jewish, and in direct conflict with basic Christian teaching.”85 In July, 1982, the
Interfaith Coalition of Concern about Cults, which sponsors seminars and conferences for
clergy and lay people and for the media, was organized. Members include the Greek
Orthodox Archdiocese of North America and South America, the Jewish Community
Relations Council of New York City (an umbrella group of Jewish organizations including the
federal and state authorities.”72 A revised version of that code was discussed at Boston
University, under the leadership of the Reverend Robert Thornburg, Dean of Marsh Chapel,
and approved as an official statement by the Boston University Christian Chaplains on June
21, 1988.73
The Catholic Church has also been forced to differentiate its legitimate splinter groups from
destructive religious cults in order to insure that its own behavior does not become cult-like.
Pointing out the Vatican Council II Declaration on Religious Liberty and its Decree on
Missionary Activity, Father James LeBar asserts that while “groups have a right to seek new
members … they have no right to use deception, high pressure, and guilt to force the
decision of an individual.”74
In the nineteenth century the Church stepped in to correct the results of “excessive
proselytizing” by Theodore Ratisbonne, a Jewish convert to Catholicism75 when he used
deceptive means to baptize Jewish children without their parents‟ knowledge or consent.76
Today the Church has to grapple with accusations that the fervently religious Catholic
organization, Opus Dei, is a cult.77 In December, 1981 Basil Cardinal Hume issued
guidelines for that group in his Archdiocese in Great Britain, stating that no one under
eighteen years of age should be allowed to make a long-term commitment to Opus Dei, the
commitment should be first discussed with parent or guardians, the individual must be free
to leave the organization and to choose his or her own spiritual director, and the group‟s
sponsorship and management should be made clear.78 And on November 4, 1986, the late
Bishop of Brooklyn, Francis John Mugavero, released a “Declaration Concerning the Bayside
Movement,” which discusses the claims that a Queens, New York woman, Veronica Leuken,
has been witnessing apparitions of the Virgin Mary during “vigils” in Flushing Meadow Park.
Bishop Mugavero instructs that the visions are not authentic and legitimate Church authority
does not condone participation in these “vigils” or disseminating or reading literature about
them.79
Mainstream Study and Action
The cult phenomenon has stirred many religious leaders to carefully study the new religious
movements. In 1983 an International Conference on Destructive Cults in Linz, Austria
sponsored by the Lutheran Church of Austria drew prominent Church leader-participants
from Western Europe.80 The Church of England instituted an investigation of the London-
based cult-like School of Economic Science in 1983 after complaints were aired at the
Church‟s General Synod81 and received from clergy in several other countries.82 Prominent
clergy and religious studies academicians have participated in sociological conferences on
cults such as that held at the Continuing Education Center at the University of Nebraska in
March of 1984.83 Many attended the conference entitled, “Cultism: A Conference for
Scholars and Policy Makers” sponsored by the American Family Foundation, the
Neuropsychiatric Institute of the University of California at Los Angeles, and The Johnson
Foundation, which was held at the Johnson Foundation‟s Wingspread Conference Center in
Racine, Wisconsin in September, 1985.84
Concern about the dangers of cults to their members and to a democratic society has
prompted some religious leaders to embark on aggressive programs to counter them. In
December of 1976, officials of the American Jewish Committee, The National Council of
Churches, and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York held a joint press conference
declaring the Unification Church and Sun Myung Moon‟s writings to be “anti-democratic,
anti-Jewish, and in direct conflict with basic Christian teaching.”85 In July, 1982, the
Interfaith Coalition of Concern about Cults, which sponsors seminars and conferences for
clergy and lay people and for the media, was organized. Members include the Greek
Orthodox Archdiocese of North America and South America, the Jewish Community
Relations Council of New York City (an umbrella group of Jewish organizations including the
