ICSA 36
Report From Germany and
Austria
Friedrich Griess
Atheists
The Atheistic Religious Society in
Austria has reached the number
of 300 members required for it to
be acknowledged as a “Religious
Confessional Association.” The group
announced in late September that it
would apply for this classification.
Energetiker
The planned Energetikerstadt 2015
event was cancelled for budgetary
and logistic reasons. The Energetiker
organization has been established as
a member of the Vienna Chamber of
Commerce. The group denies having
anything to do with esotericism, but
members claim to promote the energy
systems of men, animals, and spaces.
One People’s Public Trust (OPPT)
The OPPT movement, similar to the
Freemen, denies the authority of the
state and creates its own authorities—
for example, the International Common
Law Court of Justice. On July 31, 2015,
a self-appointed OPPT sheriff was sent
to detention. On September 29, 2015,
a courtroom in Baden (south of Vienna)
had to be evacuated by the police
because of problems caused by OPPT
followers.
Sri Chinmoy
The Sri Chinmoy Oneness—Home
Peace Run, a global torch relay for
peace, passed thorough Austria from
June 11 to 19, 2015.
Twelve Tribes
Of the 40 children originally removed
from their parents’ custody in Germany
because of evident maltreatment, 16
are still in state custody today, and
home schooling is prohibited. The
Twelve Tribes groups in Bavaria and
in Sachsen-Anhalt announced that
they will leave Germany and move
to the Czech Republic and to other
neighboring European countries, where
they expect to have fewer problems.
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Are they short of money? The Jehovah’s
Witnesses are also selling properties
in Germany, even Kingdom Halls, and
dismissing longtime employees, for
whom finding new jobs is not easy.
Colonia Dignidad
On October 20, 2015, two followers of
the late founder of Colonia Dignidad,
Paul Schäfer, were sentenced to 5 years
in prison for human trafficking. The
followers had been convicted earlier
of sexual abuse of children. The full
story will be depicted in the cinemas in
January 2016.
Guru From Lonnerstadt (Gerhard
Lebok)
On August 4, 2015, the Federal Court
at Karlsruhe confirmed the judgment
of the Regional Court Nürnberg-Fürth:
Gerhard Lebok and his partner will
go to prison for 3 years because of
mistreatment of a ward. They had
refused to give required medicine to
a teenager who suffered from cystic
fibrosis (mucoviscidosis).
Report From Italy
Cristina Caparesi
News From the Italian Associations
Helping in the Cultic Field
SOS Abusi Psicologici and Italian
associations SOS Antiplagio Novara
[Against Manipulation Novara]
and Osservatorio Nazionale Abusi
Psicologici [National Observatory
Against Psychological Abuse] (ONAP),
with Spanish organizations Asociación
para la Investigación del Abuso
Psicológico [Iberoamerican Association
for Research on Psychological Abuse]
(AIIAP) and Atención e Investigación de
Socioadicciones [Attention and Research
on Social Addictions] (AIS) have been
working on some common activities,
such as a booklet entitled Help and
Support Against Psychological Abuse: The
Experience in Italy and Spain. The work,
which is intended to offer guidance
to families and former members, has
already been printed in Italian and will
later be translated into Spanish and
English.
“It has also been a way to strengthen
cooperation in a field where it is not
so easy to cooperate,” says Cristina
Caparesi. The booklet is the result of
two seminars for practitioners, the
first organized in November 2014,
as a preparatory meeting, and the
second in October 2015, to finalize the
publication. “The booklet intends to
highlight guidelines on interventions
in the context of abuse and harassment
in groups. At the same time, it has been
a good exercise among participants.
We are satisfied with the work we have
done, and we hope we can repeat
similar experiences in the future.”
On October 10, 2015, SOS Abusi
Psicologici held a conference in Udine
entitled Minors and Manipulative
Contexts/Groups: The Experience in Italy
and Spain. Participation was good,
with at least 60 people attending. The
speakers were Italian and Spanish. A
guide for the meeting is available at
sosabusipsicologici.it/wp-content/
uploads/guida-del-convegno.pdf
Another important achievement for SOS
Abusi Psicologici has been the creation
of a library that now includes a total of
about 300 books (a list of the books is
available online at sosabusipsicologici.
it/multimedia/). The library is open to
the public, but readers must consult
books on the association premises.
While SOS Abusi Psicologici has been
continuing its support activity through
psychological, legal, and educational
consultations in its two centers in Udine
and Pordenone, some of its activities
also have been extended abroad. For
example, the association was invited to
36 ICSA TODAYTODAY
Correspondents
,
Reports
Report From Germany and
Austria
Friedrich Griess
Atheists
The Atheistic Religious Society in
Austria has reached the number
of 300 members required for it to
be acknowledged as a “Religious
Confessional Association.” The group
announced in late September that it
would apply for this classification.
Energetiker
The planned Energetikerstadt 2015
event was cancelled for budgetary
and logistic reasons. The Energetiker
organization has been established as
a member of the Vienna Chamber of
Commerce. The group denies having
anything to do with esotericism, but
members claim to promote the energy
systems of men, animals, and spaces.
One People’s Public Trust (OPPT)
The OPPT movement, similar to the
Freemen, denies the authority of the
state and creates its own authorities—
for example, the International Common
Law Court of Justice. On July 31, 2015,
a self-appointed OPPT sheriff was sent
to detention. On September 29, 2015,
a courtroom in Baden (south of Vienna)
had to be evacuated by the police
because of problems caused by OPPT
followers.
Sri Chinmoy
The Sri Chinmoy Oneness—Home
Peace Run, a global torch relay for
peace, passed thorough Austria from
June 11 to 19, 2015.
Twelve Tribes
Of the 40 children originally removed
from their parents’ custody in Germany
because of evident maltreatment, 16
are still in state custody today, and
home schooling is prohibited. The
Twelve Tribes groups in Bavaria and
in Sachsen-Anhalt announced that
they will leave Germany and move
to the Czech Republic and to other
neighboring European countries, where
they expect to have fewer problems.
Jehovah’s Witnesses
Are they short of money? The Jehovah’s
Witnesses are also selling properties
in Germany, even Kingdom Halls, and
dismissing longtime employees, for
whom finding new jobs is not easy.
Colonia Dignidad
On October 20, 2015, two followers of
the late founder of Colonia Dignidad,
Paul Schäfer, were sentenced to 5 years
in prison for human trafficking. The
followers had been convicted earlier
of sexual abuse of children. The full
story will be depicted in the cinemas in
January 2016.
Guru From Lonnerstadt (Gerhard
Lebok)
On August 4, 2015, the Federal Court
at Karlsruhe confirmed the judgment
of the Regional Court Nürnberg-Fürth:
Gerhard Lebok and his partner will
go to prison for 3 years because of
mistreatment of a ward. They had
refused to give required medicine to
a teenager who suffered from cystic
fibrosis (mucoviscidosis).
Report From Italy
Cristina Caparesi
News From the Italian Associations
Helping in the Cultic Field
SOS Abusi Psicologici and Italian
associations SOS Antiplagio Novara
[Against Manipulation Novara]
and Osservatorio Nazionale Abusi
Psicologici [National Observatory
Against Psychological Abuse] (ONAP),
with Spanish organizations Asociación
para la Investigación del Abuso
Psicológico [Iberoamerican Association
for Research on Psychological Abuse]
(AIIAP) and Atención e Investigación de
Socioadicciones [Attention and Research
on Social Addictions] (AIS) have been
working on some common activities,
such as a booklet entitled Help and
Support Against Psychological Abuse: The
Experience in Italy and Spain. The work,
which is intended to offer guidance
to families and former members, has
already been printed in Italian and will
later be translated into Spanish and
English.
“It has also been a way to strengthen
cooperation in a field where it is not
so easy to cooperate,” says Cristina
Caparesi. The booklet is the result of
two seminars for practitioners, the
first organized in November 2014,
as a preparatory meeting, and the
second in October 2015, to finalize the
publication. “The booklet intends to
highlight guidelines on interventions
in the context of abuse and harassment
in groups. At the same time, it has been
a good exercise among participants.
We are satisfied with the work we have
done, and we hope we can repeat
similar experiences in the future.”
On October 10, 2015, SOS Abusi
Psicologici held a conference in Udine
entitled Minors and Manipulative
Contexts/Groups: The Experience in Italy
and Spain. Participation was good,
with at least 60 people attending. The
speakers were Italian and Spanish. A
guide for the meeting is available at
sosabusipsicologici.it/wp-content/
uploads/guida-del-convegno.pdf
Another important achievement for SOS
Abusi Psicologici has been the creation
of a library that now includes a total of
about 300 books (a list of the books is
available online at sosabusipsicologici.
it/multimedia/). The library is open to
the public, but readers must consult
books on the association premises.
While SOS Abusi Psicologici has been
continuing its support activity through
psychological, legal, and educational
consultations in its two centers in Udine
and Pordenone, some of its activities
also have been extended abroad. For
example, the association was invited to
36 ICSA TODAYTODAY
Correspondents
,
Reports
