Cultic Studies Journal, Volume 17, 2000, Page 80
Launching ―Memo Wars,‖ on the other hand, does not help to reach the truth. Indeed, it
creates an overheated climate which does not encourage scholars to look at the present or
the future with the confidence and open-mindedness of those who share the motto that
used to appear on the documents of the APA: ―Advancing psychology as a science, a
profession, and as a means of promoting human welfare.‖
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Chambers, William V., Langone, Michael D., &Malinoski, Peter. (1996, August 12). The
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Fowler, Raymond D. (1989, July 12). Memo to Dr. W. D‘Antonio. Washington, D.C.:
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Kahn, Arnold. (1983, July 12). Memorandum. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological
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Cultic Studies Journal, Volume 17, 2000, Page 81
Notes
(1) According to CESNUR, the diffusion of the documents of the APA controversy had been
vetoed by the lawyers of those accused by Margaret Singer of having engaged in a
criminal conspiracy against her, including APA officers and several scholars. CESNUR
acknowledges that it was our article that allowed it to prevail upon these lawyers and to
post on CESNUR‘s Web site most of the documents, including the DIMPAC report and
two annexes to the 1987 APA Memorandum, which had never been published before.
Acknowledgment
Earlier versions of this article were originally published first on the GRIS-Roma Web site
(http://www.grisroma.it) and then on the first issue of AFF‘s Internet journal
(www.cultsandsociety.com). It is reprinted here with permission of the authors.
**********
Alberto Amitrani is the former president of GRIS Rome, Italy. GRIS (Group for Research
and Information about Sects [Cults]) is a non-profit cultural and religious association,
organised on February 8, 1987 and involved in researching, studying, and disseminating
information concerning ―new religious movements.‖ On September 25, 1990, the articles
of association of GRIS received the approval of the Italian Bishops‘ Conference.
Raffaella Di Marzio is President, GRIS Rome. She set up a support and counseling centre
in Rome, for all those troubled, directly or indirectly, by experiences associated with
belonging to a cult. Dr. Di Marzio and her husband, Dr. Amitrani, both have two degrees,
one in Psychology (University ―La Sapienza‖ of Rome, 1981) and one in Educational Science
(Pontifical Salesian University, 1981). Moreover they both have the Superior Diploma in
Religious Science from the Institute for Religious Studies Ecclesia Mater, linked to the
faculty of theology of Pontifical Lateran University. They have been teachers in a Senior
High School in Rome since 1981.
This article is an electronic version of an article originally published in Cultic Studies Journal, 2000, Volume 17,
pages 101-121. Please keep in mind that the pagination of this electronic reprint differs from that of the bound
volume. This fact could affect how you enter bibliographic information in papers that you may write.