30 ICSA TODAY 28
permission to appeal the decision. But this week an Appeal
Court judge rejected their application to appeal, and said the
church should pay Stewart’s victim £275,000 compensation
and the massive legal costs of the case, which have been
estimated at around £1 million. Stewart, who carried out Bible
study sessions and door-to-door evangelical rounds, molested
the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, on a weekly
basis.” (Leicester Mercury, 07/08/16)
Hitler-loving Korean sex cult lures young girls as “spiritual
brides” for serial rapist
“A notorious cult which allegedly brainwashes young women
into having sex with a serial rapist is luring potential members
in major cities across Australia. South Korean group Jesus
Morning Star (JMS)—who[se leaders] praise Hitler and
preach members will be purified by having sex with their
leader—are [sic] believed to be recruiting in shopping centers
and universities in Canberra, Sydney, and Melbourne. The
quasi-Christian sect was founded in 1980 by Jung Myung-
seok (JMS), who is serving a 10-year prison sentence in
Seoul for raping and molesting his followers. He is due to
walk free in 2017. The highly secretive group, also known as
Providence, is believed to have spread to Australia through
a number of front organizations, including fashion modelling
classes and Bible studies. Members say they are groomed into
following a ‘doctrine’ which enforces sleep deprivation and
encourages severing ties with family in order to be ‘spiritual
brides’ for Jung. Former followers have told Daily Mail Australia
of the devastating impact the cult had on their lives and said
they were left psychologically and emotionally scarred after
leaving.” (Daily Mail Australia, 05/20/16)
FBI raids of Hasidic Kiryas Joel “part of sex-abuse probe”
“FBI raids in the Hasidic village of Kiryas Joel are reportedly
part of a child abuse investigation stemming from two
recently released videos in which a yeshiva principal intimately
touches two young boys. The Journal News reported Friday
that an unidentified law enforcement source said Thursday’s
raids, targeting the United Talmudical Academy and the town’s
public safety building, were investigating abuse allegations.
Kiryas Joel, in upstate New York, is an almost exclusively
Hasidic community, with the majority of its residents part of
a branch of the Satmar sect. ...The videos of the principal
were reportedly taken several months ago using a ceiling
camera hidden in his office. It is not clear who hid the camera
and leaked the videos. According to The Journal News, the
Satmar school’s board of directors issued a statement Tuesday
defending the principal.” (The Times of Israel, 05/13/16)
Danish cult that claims demons cause autism arrives in
Spain
“A religious group is staging several ‘spirituality seminars’ this
weekend in Barcelona, claiming that its members—through
Jesus—can heal people with a variety of conditions, including
autism. The Last Reformation, an evangelical Christian group
founded in Denmark by Torben Sondergaard, arrived in
Spain on Friday for a series of spirituality seminars. ...The
group will be going out onto the streets of Barcelona ...to
practice ‘kickstarting’ performing ‘miracles’ and healing the
sick ...under the supervision of team members from The
Last Reformation,’ according to the seminar guide, published
online. ...The group is particularly proud of the miracles
performed by its members, promoting them across its social
media, on Facebook and YouTube. One video shows a member
of The Last Reformation laying his hands on a woman with
crutches, who immediately discards them and walks unaided.”
(The Local, 05/06/16)
Moonies offer olive branch to former cult leader who died
in Bedford, UK
Former Moonie Dennis Orme gives tribute to his beloved
wife Doris and her work as a spiritual pioneer and as a
“restored Eve.” “Doris Orme traveled the world organizing
the Unification Church, criticized for its brutal pre-marriage
ceremonies, sex rituals and its tyrannous former leader Rev
Moon.” The Ormes left the church after a public fallout with
Rev Moon. They returned to Mr. Orme’s hometown Bedford
in 2014. Doris Orme passed away in Bedford Hospital after
a long battle with Alzheimer’s. She published God Speaks to
Doris, which contains “seventy revelations from 1993–2006,
including a warning to the US that if they live by the
sword they will ‘die by the sword’ and criticizing America’s
involvement with Iraq.” (Bedfordshire On Sunday, 06/04/16)
Polygamous sect verdict: Religion is not a shield for crime
A federal jury found the two FLDS-run towns of Hildale, Utah
and Colorado City, Arizona “guilty of multiple civil rights
violations, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation rounded
up 11 FLDS leaders on felony welfare fraud charges. The jury
found that the towns sabotaged people who were considered
threats, that the police departments harassed and intimidated
nonbelievers, and that local officials denied services to new
residents from outside of the faith. ...A federal jury found
that the FLDS towns, run from a Texas prison by convicted
child molester and bigamist Warren Jeffs, violated child labor
laws as well as civil rights laws, which they did by refusing
service to nonbelievers, many of whom live side by side with
FLDS adherents, who post signs reading ‘Zion’ on their front
porches.” (The Christian Century, 03/14/16)
Federal appeals court tosses Sister Wives lawsuit over
Utah’s polygamy ban
“A federal appeals court has rejected a lawsuit filed by reality
TV polygamist Kody Brown and his four wives, declaring that
the family did not actually face a threat of prosecution from
Utah authorities. In a ruling handed down Monday, the 10th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver sent the case back to
permission to appeal the decision. But this week an Appeal
Court judge rejected their application to appeal, and said the
church should pay Stewart’s victim £275,000 compensation
and the massive legal costs of the case, which have been
estimated at around £1 million. Stewart, who carried out Bible
study sessions and door-to-door evangelical rounds, molested
the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, on a weekly
basis.” (Leicester Mercury, 07/08/16)
Hitler-loving Korean sex cult lures young girls as “spiritual
brides” for serial rapist
“A notorious cult which allegedly brainwashes young women
into having sex with a serial rapist is luring potential members
in major cities across Australia. South Korean group Jesus
Morning Star (JMS)—who[se leaders] praise Hitler and
preach members will be purified by having sex with their
leader—are [sic] believed to be recruiting in shopping centers
and universities in Canberra, Sydney, and Melbourne. The
quasi-Christian sect was founded in 1980 by Jung Myung-
seok (JMS), who is serving a 10-year prison sentence in
Seoul for raping and molesting his followers. He is due to
walk free in 2017. The highly secretive group, also known as
Providence, is believed to have spread to Australia through
a number of front organizations, including fashion modelling
classes and Bible studies. Members say they are groomed into
following a ‘doctrine’ which enforces sleep deprivation and
encourages severing ties with family in order to be ‘spiritual
brides’ for Jung. Former followers have told Daily Mail Australia
of the devastating impact the cult had on their lives and said
they were left psychologically and emotionally scarred after
leaving.” (Daily Mail Australia, 05/20/16)
FBI raids of Hasidic Kiryas Joel “part of sex-abuse probe”
“FBI raids in the Hasidic village of Kiryas Joel are reportedly
part of a child abuse investigation stemming from two
recently released videos in which a yeshiva principal intimately
touches two young boys. The Journal News reported Friday
that an unidentified law enforcement source said Thursday’s
raids, targeting the United Talmudical Academy and the town’s
public safety building, were investigating abuse allegations.
Kiryas Joel, in upstate New York, is an almost exclusively
Hasidic community, with the majority of its residents part of
a branch of the Satmar sect. ...The videos of the principal
were reportedly taken several months ago using a ceiling
camera hidden in his office. It is not clear who hid the camera
and leaked the videos. According to The Journal News, the
Satmar school’s board of directors issued a statement Tuesday
defending the principal.” (The Times of Israel, 05/13/16)
Danish cult that claims demons cause autism arrives in
Spain
“A religious group is staging several ‘spirituality seminars’ this
weekend in Barcelona, claiming that its members—through
Jesus—can heal people with a variety of conditions, including
autism. The Last Reformation, an evangelical Christian group
founded in Denmark by Torben Sondergaard, arrived in
Spain on Friday for a series of spirituality seminars. ...The
group will be going out onto the streets of Barcelona ...to
practice ‘kickstarting’ performing ‘miracles’ and healing the
sick ...under the supervision of team members from The
Last Reformation,’ according to the seminar guide, published
online. ...The group is particularly proud of the miracles
performed by its members, promoting them across its social
media, on Facebook and YouTube. One video shows a member
of The Last Reformation laying his hands on a woman with
crutches, who immediately discards them and walks unaided.”
(The Local, 05/06/16)
Moonies offer olive branch to former cult leader who died
in Bedford, UK
Former Moonie Dennis Orme gives tribute to his beloved
wife Doris and her work as a spiritual pioneer and as a
“restored Eve.” “Doris Orme traveled the world organizing
the Unification Church, criticized for its brutal pre-marriage
ceremonies, sex rituals and its tyrannous former leader Rev
Moon.” The Ormes left the church after a public fallout with
Rev Moon. They returned to Mr. Orme’s hometown Bedford
in 2014. Doris Orme passed away in Bedford Hospital after
a long battle with Alzheimer’s. She published God Speaks to
Doris, which contains “seventy revelations from 1993–2006,
including a warning to the US that if they live by the
sword they will ‘die by the sword’ and criticizing America’s
involvement with Iraq.” (Bedfordshire On Sunday, 06/04/16)
Polygamous sect verdict: Religion is not a shield for crime
A federal jury found the two FLDS-run towns of Hildale, Utah
and Colorado City, Arizona “guilty of multiple civil rights
violations, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation rounded
up 11 FLDS leaders on felony welfare fraud charges. The jury
found that the towns sabotaged people who were considered
threats, that the police departments harassed and intimidated
nonbelievers, and that local officials denied services to new
residents from outside of the faith. ...A federal jury found
that the FLDS towns, run from a Texas prison by convicted
child molester and bigamist Warren Jeffs, violated child labor
laws as well as civil rights laws, which they did by refusing
service to nonbelievers, many of whom live side by side with
FLDS adherents, who post signs reading ‘Zion’ on their front
porches.” (The Christian Century, 03/14/16)
Federal appeals court tosses Sister Wives lawsuit over
Utah’s polygamy ban
“A federal appeals court has rejected a lawsuit filed by reality
TV polygamist Kody Brown and his four wives, declaring that
the family did not actually face a threat of prosecution from
Utah authorities. In a ruling handed down Monday, the 10th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver sent the case back to
