29 VOLUME 9 |ISSUE 2 |2018
Note:
References for specific sources cited in
Correspondents’ Reports are available
at icsahome.com/elibrary/icsatoday/
references
Reports From Czech Republic
Piotr T. Nowakowski
On February 21, 2018, the daily tabloid
newspaper Blesk (its name translates
as flash) from Prague published an
article about Elissa Wall (31), who
now publicly talks about her horrible
childhood as a member of the
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS). The group’s
former leader Warren Jeffs forced Elissa
to marry her 19-year-old cousin Allen
Steed when she was just 14 years old.
After many battles and trials, Elissa was
finally awarded $16 million in damages
from the group.
Report From Italy
Cristina Caparesi
News From Italy
In recent months, more cases of
undue influence have been reported
in the news in Italy. Most of them
were related to individuals who
claim to have special powers to heal
psychological or physical harm or
improve well-being, but in fact they
take advantage of vulnerable people
by stripping them of their properties
or subjecting them to sexual abuse or
other deprivations.
Since the case of Michelle Hunzinker,
a well-known television personality
in Italy who decided to tell her story
after its end 11 years ago, there have
been many more cases exposed on TV.
Michelle decided to publish a book,
Una vita apparentemente perfetta (An
Apparently Perfect Life), in which she
told about her 5 years trapped in the
cult I guerrieri della luce (The Warriors of
the Light). That experience, she claims,
led to the breakup of her marriage with
Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti.
This news has appeared in Italian
media and has shed light on the cult
phenomenon. SOS Abusi Psicologici
has also decided to intervene in the
case with a public post.1
Last February, a program on national
TV (Presa Diretta), Io ci credo, viaggio nel
mondo della spiritualità (I Believe: Travel
in the World of Spirituality), shed light
on some new religious movements/
spiritual experiences, particularly
former members, in Italy.
An investigation was recently
conducted into Mario Pianesi and his
collaborators, who have been accused
of “manipulating people into following
a controlled five-stage diet called
‘Ma.Pi’ (coined from Pianesi’s name),”
which resulted in one female follower
who had no previous weight problems
weighing only 35kg. The cult “also
convinced followers to give up their
jobs and renounce their former lives to
work for his association, often [being]
forced to provide labour for free. …
Pianesi controlled a business empire
with dozens of restaurants around
Italy, and was considered one of Italy’s
leading experts on a macrobiotic
diet…”2 The investigators also reported
that “Pianesi was able ‘to obtain the
trust of numerous people who were
in a fragile psychological condition
because of personal health or family
problems,’ and even convince them to
abandon mainstream medicine, telling
devotees ‘pharmaceutical drugs do
not cure people, they just take away
symptoms, medicine kills, doctors are
legalized assassins,’ according to Italian
news agency Ansa.”3
Another recent case concerns Tristano
Onofri, who was investigated for
aggravated scam. The man, a former
stylist, was identified by the police
with nine members of his staff and 21
followers of Mehaleon (his guru name)
during an exorcism rite in the “house
of light,” where he was allegedly
operating on autistic children and
other people with different diseases.
In Turin, the police are investigating
a group led by Paolo Meraglia, a
guru, who, according to the report,
was practicing exorcisms through
orgiastic rituals. With the “exchange
of force,” or a sexual relationship,
Meraglia claimed to be able to unlock
the motherhood of women. The man
was reportedly advising the women
to have sexual relations with their
husbands immediately after the
“session” to avert any suspicion by their
spouses. Testimonies reveal that some
of the participants in these group
sexual rituals experienced pregnancies
in which Meraglia was allegedly the
father of the children.
Another man, Pietro Alfio Capuana,
the head of the Associazione Cattolica
Cultura e Ambiente (Catholic
Association for Culture and the
Environment) of Catania, Sicily, was
arrested on charges of raping minors
“to purify them” after some former
members accused him of being the
reincarnation of an archangel. He has
rejected the accusations, calling them
a plot. Three other collaborators of the
guru have been involved in the case
and are now under house arrest.
News From the Associations
In the first months of 2018, SOS
Abusi Psicologici has renewed its
annual program of addressing
undue influence. With a new office in
Udine’s city center, the initiatives the
organization is providing this year
include a European conference on The
Risks of Alternative Medicines Between
Science and Magic. After summer’s
end, SOS Abusi Psicologici also hopes
to bring lay associations together
that are united by the shared goal of
helping victims of cults.
SOS Abusi Psicologici and Educaforum
a.p.s. have been active in a common
project under the regional law on
immigration with CRAGIPPE (Center
Correspondents
,
Reports
Note:
References for specific sources cited in
Correspondents’ Reports are available
at icsahome.com/elibrary/icsatoday/
references
Reports From Czech Republic
Piotr T. Nowakowski
On February 21, 2018, the daily tabloid
newspaper Blesk (its name translates
as flash) from Prague published an
article about Elissa Wall (31), who
now publicly talks about her horrible
childhood as a member of the
Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS). The group’s
former leader Warren Jeffs forced Elissa
to marry her 19-year-old cousin Allen
Steed when she was just 14 years old.
After many battles and trials, Elissa was
finally awarded $16 million in damages
from the group.
Report From Italy
Cristina Caparesi
News From Italy
In recent months, more cases of
undue influence have been reported
in the news in Italy. Most of them
were related to individuals who
claim to have special powers to heal
psychological or physical harm or
improve well-being, but in fact they
take advantage of vulnerable people
by stripping them of their properties
or subjecting them to sexual abuse or
other deprivations.
Since the case of Michelle Hunzinker,
a well-known television personality
in Italy who decided to tell her story
after its end 11 years ago, there have
been many more cases exposed on TV.
Michelle decided to publish a book,
Una vita apparentemente perfetta (An
Apparently Perfect Life), in which she
told about her 5 years trapped in the
cult I guerrieri della luce (The Warriors of
the Light). That experience, she claims,
led to the breakup of her marriage with
Italian singer Eros Ramazzotti.
This news has appeared in Italian
media and has shed light on the cult
phenomenon. SOS Abusi Psicologici
has also decided to intervene in the
case with a public post.1
Last February, a program on national
TV (Presa Diretta), Io ci credo, viaggio nel
mondo della spiritualità (I Believe: Travel
in the World of Spirituality), shed light
on some new religious movements/
spiritual experiences, particularly
former members, in Italy.
An investigation was recently
conducted into Mario Pianesi and his
collaborators, who have been accused
of “manipulating people into following
a controlled five-stage diet called
‘Ma.Pi’ (coined from Pianesi’s name),”
which resulted in one female follower
who had no previous weight problems
weighing only 35kg. The cult “also
convinced followers to give up their
jobs and renounce their former lives to
work for his association, often [being]
forced to provide labour for free. …
Pianesi controlled a business empire
with dozens of restaurants around
Italy, and was considered one of Italy’s
leading experts on a macrobiotic
diet…”2 The investigators also reported
that “Pianesi was able ‘to obtain the
trust of numerous people who were
in a fragile psychological condition
because of personal health or family
problems,’ and even convince them to
abandon mainstream medicine, telling
devotees ‘pharmaceutical drugs do
not cure people, they just take away
symptoms, medicine kills, doctors are
legalized assassins,’ according to Italian
news agency Ansa.”3
Another recent case concerns Tristano
Onofri, who was investigated for
aggravated scam. The man, a former
stylist, was identified by the police
with nine members of his staff and 21
followers of Mehaleon (his guru name)
during an exorcism rite in the “house
of light,” where he was allegedly
operating on autistic children and
other people with different diseases.
In Turin, the police are investigating
a group led by Paolo Meraglia, a
guru, who, according to the report,
was practicing exorcisms through
orgiastic rituals. With the “exchange
of force,” or a sexual relationship,
Meraglia claimed to be able to unlock
the motherhood of women. The man
was reportedly advising the women
to have sexual relations with their
husbands immediately after the
“session” to avert any suspicion by their
spouses. Testimonies reveal that some
of the participants in these group
sexual rituals experienced pregnancies
in which Meraglia was allegedly the
father of the children.
Another man, Pietro Alfio Capuana,
the head of the Associazione Cattolica
Cultura e Ambiente (Catholic
Association for Culture and the
Environment) of Catania, Sicily, was
arrested on charges of raping minors
“to purify them” after some former
members accused him of being the
reincarnation of an archangel. He has
rejected the accusations, calling them
a plot. Three other collaborators of the
guru have been involved in the case
and are now under house arrest.
News From the Associations
In the first months of 2018, SOS
Abusi Psicologici has renewed its
annual program of addressing
undue influence. With a new office in
Udine’s city center, the initiatives the
organization is providing this year
include a European conference on The
Risks of Alternative Medicines Between
Science and Magic. After summer’s
end, SOS Abusi Psicologici also hopes
to bring lay associations together
that are united by the shared goal of
helping victims of cults.
SOS Abusi Psicologici and Educaforum
a.p.s. have been active in a common
project under the regional law on
immigration with CRAGIPPE (Center
Correspondents
,
Reports
