36 ICSA TODAY
Cult prevention group seeks stay of execution for
“brainwashed” former Aum Shinrikyo members
“The Japan Society for Cult Prevention and Recovery (JSCPR)
demanded Monday that the state refrain from executing 12
former members of doomsday cult group Aum Shinrikyo,
not including the group’s guru leader, amid growing
speculation that recent transfers of seven of them could
indicate their hanging was imminent.” (Japan Times, 03/19/18)
Aum cult leaders’ execution: Why now? Why only seven?
“Seven members of the [Aum Shinrikyo] cult responsible
for the 1995 Tokyo Metro sarin gas attacks—including cult
leader Shoko Asahara and six accomplices—were executed
in Tokyo on Friday, July 6. The question on everyone’s mind
is “Why now? ...At a special press conference held on July
6, Minister of Justice Yoko Kawakami was asked about the
selection of the convicts to be executed. She repeatedly said
she would ‘refrain from commenting.’ The cult’s 1994–1995
sarin gas attacks and other murders terrorized the Tokyo
region. Thirteen victims died in the 1995 gas attacks alone,
and several thousand were injured, including 54 victims
with serious injuries. Although no specific explanation has
been articulated for the timing of the executions, there are
several factors which may have played a role, in addition to
conclusion of the trials of the accomplices. Next year is full
of official imperial events [and] … ‘executions should be
avoided during such an auspicious year.’ The following year
brings the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the United Nations
Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Kyoto.
… Consequently, according to a government official, the
Ministry of Justice maintained its stance on carrying out
the executions within this year. Another factor affecting
timing may be the upcoming presidential election … which
raises the possibility of … an incoming minister that may
be reluctant to allow executions. … all seven cult members,
including mastermind Asahara, were leaders in the cult.” (The
Sankei Shimbun, 7/14/18)
St. Paul archdiocese to pay $210M to clergy-abuse victims
“The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has agreed to
a $210 million settlement with 450 victims of clergy sexual
abuse as part of its plan for bankruptcy reorganization,
making it the second-largest U.S. payout in the scandal
that rocked the nation’s Roman Catholic Church. Victims’
attorney Jeff Anderson said the settlement was reached with
the victims and the archdiocese and includes accountability
measures. The money, a total of $210,290,724, will go into a
pot to pay survivors, with the amount for each survivor to be
determined.’” (Associated Press, NBC News, 6/01/18)
Pennsylvania report to document child sexual abuse,
cover-ups in six Catholic dioceses
“For more than two years, dozens of victims have filed into
a secret grand jury room in Pennsylvania, faced a group of
strangers, and recounted how they were sexually abused
as children by Catholic priests, their rapes and molestation
buried by church leaders. One, a former Erie priest who
testified that he was molested when he was a teenager,
called the experience cathartic. … Later this month, state
Attorney General Josh Shapiro is expected to release a
landmark report by that grand jury that will detail, in stark
and stomach-turning terms, decades of abuse and cover-ups
in every Catholic diocese in the state except Philadelphia and
Altoona-Johnstown, which have already undergone such
scrutiny. It is, legal experts say, among the most expansive
investigations into clergy abuse in the country, one that will
provide a panoramic view into the church’s handling of the
scandal, dating back decades, across most of the state.” (The
Inquirer, 6/17/18)
Two Montreal religious groups can now legally import
ayahuasca
“With little fanfare, Health Canada granted exemptions last
summer to two Montreal religious groups to allow them to
import and serve ayahuasca to their members. The drug,
originating from the Amazon, is otherwise banned in Canada
since it contains dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and harmaline,
two prohibited hallucinogens. The eclectic Center of
Sparkling Universal Light, also known as Céu do Montréal,
and the Beneficient Spiritist Center União do Vegetal,
have so far been very discreet about their exemption. Beyond
an announcement on Céu do Montreal’s website, the news
has gone virtually unnoticed in Quebec. ...Health Canada
confirmed that it has exempted both groups under section 56
of the Controlled Drugs Act. ‘The Minister of Health may, on
the conditions he considers necessary, exempt a person or a
substance from the application of any provision of this Act or
its regulations,’ said spokesperson André Gagnon. The two-
year exemptions, first granted in June 2017, are renewable.
Health Canada refused to provide VICE with the quantities
allowed, claiming the information is confidential. ‘These
exemptions were for religious purposes only.’ ...Ayahuasca
is a drug with dangerous side effects, if consumed without
supervision. ‘It may be incompatible with certain substances,
including certain antidepressants,’ says Jean-Sébastien Fallu,
a drug addiction specialist at the University of Montreal.
‘Some people with mental health issues ...may also be at
risk for toxic psychoses. This is not an experience to be taken
lightly. It is a journey that can reactivate trauma. Hence the
importance of being surrounded by experienced people.’
News Desk
Edited by Ana Rodriguez and Patrick Ryan
34
Cult prevention group seeks stay of execution for
“brainwashed” former Aum Shinrikyo members
“The Japan Society for Cult Prevention and Recovery (JSCPR)
demanded Monday that the state refrain from executing 12
former members of doomsday cult group Aum Shinrikyo,
not including the group’s guru leader, amid growing
speculation that recent transfers of seven of them could
indicate their hanging was imminent.” (Japan Times, 03/19/18)
Aum cult leaders’ execution: Why now? Why only seven?
“Seven members of the [Aum Shinrikyo] cult responsible
for the 1995 Tokyo Metro sarin gas attacks—including cult
leader Shoko Asahara and six accomplices—were executed
in Tokyo on Friday, July 6. The question on everyone’s mind
is “Why now? ...At a special press conference held on July
6, Minister of Justice Yoko Kawakami was asked about the
selection of the convicts to be executed. She repeatedly said
she would ‘refrain from commenting.’ The cult’s 1994–1995
sarin gas attacks and other murders terrorized the Tokyo
region. Thirteen victims died in the 1995 gas attacks alone,
and several thousand were injured, including 54 victims
with serious injuries. Although no specific explanation has
been articulated for the timing of the executions, there are
several factors which may have played a role, in addition to
conclusion of the trials of the accomplices. Next year is full
of official imperial events [and] … ‘executions should be
avoided during such an auspicious year.’ The following year
brings the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the United Nations
Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Kyoto.
… Consequently, according to a government official, the
Ministry of Justice maintained its stance on carrying out
the executions within this year. Another factor affecting
timing may be the upcoming presidential election … which
raises the possibility of … an incoming minister that may
be reluctant to allow executions. … all seven cult members,
including mastermind Asahara, were leaders in the cult.” (The
Sankei Shimbun, 7/14/18)
St. Paul archdiocese to pay $210M to clergy-abuse victims
“The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has agreed to
a $210 million settlement with 450 victims of clergy sexual
abuse as part of its plan for bankruptcy reorganization,
making it the second-largest U.S. payout in the scandal
that rocked the nation’s Roman Catholic Church. Victims’
attorney Jeff Anderson said the settlement was reached with
the victims and the archdiocese and includes accountability
measures. The money, a total of $210,290,724, will go into a
pot to pay survivors, with the amount for each survivor to be
determined.’” (Associated Press, NBC News, 6/01/18)
Pennsylvania report to document child sexual abuse,
cover-ups in six Catholic dioceses
“For more than two years, dozens of victims have filed into
a secret grand jury room in Pennsylvania, faced a group of
strangers, and recounted how they were sexually abused
as children by Catholic priests, their rapes and molestation
buried by church leaders. One, a former Erie priest who
testified that he was molested when he was a teenager,
called the experience cathartic. … Later this month, state
Attorney General Josh Shapiro is expected to release a
landmark report by that grand jury that will detail, in stark
and stomach-turning terms, decades of abuse and cover-ups
in every Catholic diocese in the state except Philadelphia and
Altoona-Johnstown, which have already undergone such
scrutiny. It is, legal experts say, among the most expansive
investigations into clergy abuse in the country, one that will
provide a panoramic view into the church’s handling of the
scandal, dating back decades, across most of the state.” (The
Inquirer, 6/17/18)
Two Montreal religious groups can now legally import
ayahuasca
“With little fanfare, Health Canada granted exemptions last
summer to two Montreal religious groups to allow them to
import and serve ayahuasca to their members. The drug,
originating from the Amazon, is otherwise banned in Canada
since it contains dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and harmaline,
two prohibited hallucinogens. The eclectic Center of
Sparkling Universal Light, also known as Céu do Montréal,
and the Beneficient Spiritist Center União do Vegetal,
have so far been very discreet about their exemption. Beyond
an announcement on Céu do Montreal’s website, the news
has gone virtually unnoticed in Quebec. ...Health Canada
confirmed that it has exempted both groups under section 56
of the Controlled Drugs Act. ‘The Minister of Health may, on
the conditions he considers necessary, exempt a person or a
substance from the application of any provision of this Act or
its regulations,’ said spokesperson André Gagnon. The two-
year exemptions, first granted in June 2017, are renewable.
Health Canada refused to provide VICE with the quantities
allowed, claiming the information is confidential. ‘These
exemptions were for religious purposes only.’ ...Ayahuasca
is a drug with dangerous side effects, if consumed without
supervision. ‘It may be incompatible with certain substances,
including certain antidepressants,’ says Jean-Sébastien Fallu,
a drug addiction specialist at the University of Montreal.
‘Some people with mental health issues ...may also be at
risk for toxic psychoses. This is not an experience to be taken
lightly. It is a journey that can reactivate trauma. Hence the
importance of being surrounded by experienced people.’
News Desk
Edited by Ana Rodriguez and Patrick Ryan
34
