VOLUME 6 |ISSUE 2 |2015 3131
Correspondents
,
Reports
schools, and cultic groups ignoring
compulsory-education requirements.
Report From Spain and
Latin America
Luis Santamaría and Erika Toren
Cultic Studies
In July 2014, the University of Cordoba,
Spain organized a summer course
called Brainwashing and Mind-Control,
led by Professor of Psychology Manuel
Moyano. The Professor anticipated the
participation of other teachers such as
María del Carmen Tabernero, Álvaro
Rodríguez Carballeira, and Humberto
Trujillo.
The Argentinian Salomé Benoit, licensed
in social work, has published in Spain
her second book titled Young Cultists:
The Impact of Cults on Children and
Adolescents (published by De Buena
Tinta) The author focuses on the effects
of cults on families, adolescents, and on
the young, offering practical information
on the topic.
The Episcopal Conference in Spain
in October 2014 organized some
workshops on cults and new religious
movements, in which representatives
of all the dioceses of Spain participated.
The majority of presenters were
members of RIES (the Ibero-American
Network for the Study of Sects) they
talked at length about current cult-
related issues in Spain. Luis Santamaria
presented his findings in recent studies,
which show that between 300,000
and 400,000 Spaniards currently are
members of more than 350 cults.
Groups of Christian Origin
In September 2014, police in Peru
rescued 36 children being held by the
Evangelical Association of the Israelite
Mission of the New Universal Pact, a
messianic cult of Peru. According to
police, the children were forced to
do manual labor, they did not know
where their parents were, and they
had no sanitation and very little food.
Nonetheless, the authorities ordered
their return to the group because the
government could not assist them.
The Christian Church Palmariana (Palmar
de Troya), the Palmarian Christian
Church of the Carmelites of the Holy
Face, has recently appeared in Spanish
news because it has reformed the
towers and domes of the Grand Basilica
Santa Sede. It has placed statues of
several saints there, among which is
now the founder of the cult, Clemente
Domínguez the explorer Christopher
Columbus and the dictator Francisco
Franco. Currently, the cult is under the
government of its third self-proclaimed
“Pope,” Gregorio XVIII.
In October 2014, the Catholic Diocese of
Trujillo, Peru had to publish a warning
that the Universal Church of the
Kingdom of God (Comunidad Cristiana
del Espíritu Santo), of Brazilian origin,
was proselytizing with the Lord of
Miracles, using this common Peruvian
Catholic devotion as a trap. The press
release from the Bishop’s office warns of
a betrayal of Catholic faith.
In November, the Unification Church
(Sun Myung Moon), through its
Global Peace Foundation, organized
the VI International Convention for
Peace, with participation of 18 former
Latin American presidents. The main
selling point of the Convention was
to search for liberty, prosperity, and
integrity through moral and innovative
leadership.
Groups of Asian Origin
At the beginning of the month of
November 2014 in Argentina, the
Guru Ricardo Javier Ocampo, better
known as Master Love, the leader
of the community Meditazen, was
accused of six counts of sexual abuse
and corruption of minors that took
place from 2000 to 2007 with younger
members of his cult. Before the trial,
Ocampo paid bail and is out awaiting
trial.
Occultism, Syncretism, and Satanism
On August 20, 2014, Argentinian police
uncovered an Umbanda cult in the
South of Buenos Aires. According to
the investigation, the group’s victims,
who were attracted through the group’s
activities, ended up in a physically
violent environment and robbed of
all of their belongings. During their
intervention, the police found 15
human skulls and other articles typical
of Umbanda rituals in the temple of the
cultic group.
The Bolivian Jesuit priest Miguel
Manzanera has confirmed in an article
published in the digital Catholic review
Iglesia Viva that not only animals but also
humans are still being sacrificed in Latin
America, just as in olden days. This goes
to show the popularity of esoteric rituals
on the continent today.
Other Groups
In August 2014, Mexican authorities
located an adept of the Lemurian
Embassy who had disappeared from
villas that the group keeps in the country
as an ecological project. The group is
looking for extraterrestrial life. This is
not the first cult of this kind that finds
its way into the newspapers in this
country. Before them we heard of the
Italian group, Italo-Apocalipticos.
In October and November 2014, the
world leader of the esoteric movement
Metaphysical, Ruben Cedeño from
Venezuela, visited Spain. Supposedly
Cedeño has written more than 400
books. He held some conferences in
several cities and presided over the
I Metaphysics Congress Andaluz on
Healing. Furthermore, this group has
reached the level of the University of
Granada Faculty of Law, presenting
classes there.
In Uruguay, there have been some
recent conflicts around the Colegio
Nueva Cultura—Logosia Method,
after which a group of parents of the
alumni were arrested in the educational
center on charges of violence and
psychological abuse against minors. The
center follows Logosofia, an esoteric
doctrine written by Carlos Bernardo
Gonzalez Pecotche, who is called
Maestro Raumsol by his followers. n
Correspondents
,
Reports
schools, and cultic groups ignoring
compulsory-education requirements.
Report From Spain and
Latin America
Luis Santamaría and Erika Toren
Cultic Studies
In July 2014, the University of Cordoba,
Spain organized a summer course
called Brainwashing and Mind-Control,
led by Professor of Psychology Manuel
Moyano. The Professor anticipated the
participation of other teachers such as
María del Carmen Tabernero, Álvaro
Rodríguez Carballeira, and Humberto
Trujillo.
The Argentinian Salomé Benoit, licensed
in social work, has published in Spain
her second book titled Young Cultists:
The Impact of Cults on Children and
Adolescents (published by De Buena
Tinta) The author focuses on the effects
of cults on families, adolescents, and on
the young, offering practical information
on the topic.
The Episcopal Conference in Spain
in October 2014 organized some
workshops on cults and new religious
movements, in which representatives
of all the dioceses of Spain participated.
The majority of presenters were
members of RIES (the Ibero-American
Network for the Study of Sects) they
talked at length about current cult-
related issues in Spain. Luis Santamaria
presented his findings in recent studies,
which show that between 300,000
and 400,000 Spaniards currently are
members of more than 350 cults.
Groups of Christian Origin
In September 2014, police in Peru
rescued 36 children being held by the
Evangelical Association of the Israelite
Mission of the New Universal Pact, a
messianic cult of Peru. According to
police, the children were forced to
do manual labor, they did not know
where their parents were, and they
had no sanitation and very little food.
Nonetheless, the authorities ordered
their return to the group because the
government could not assist them.
The Christian Church Palmariana (Palmar
de Troya), the Palmarian Christian
Church of the Carmelites of the Holy
Face, has recently appeared in Spanish
news because it has reformed the
towers and domes of the Grand Basilica
Santa Sede. It has placed statues of
several saints there, among which is
now the founder of the cult, Clemente
Domínguez the explorer Christopher
Columbus and the dictator Francisco
Franco. Currently, the cult is under the
government of its third self-proclaimed
“Pope,” Gregorio XVIII.
In October 2014, the Catholic Diocese of
Trujillo, Peru had to publish a warning
that the Universal Church of the
Kingdom of God (Comunidad Cristiana
del Espíritu Santo), of Brazilian origin,
was proselytizing with the Lord of
Miracles, using this common Peruvian
Catholic devotion as a trap. The press
release from the Bishop’s office warns of
a betrayal of Catholic faith.
In November, the Unification Church
(Sun Myung Moon), through its
Global Peace Foundation, organized
the VI International Convention for
Peace, with participation of 18 former
Latin American presidents. The main
selling point of the Convention was
to search for liberty, prosperity, and
integrity through moral and innovative
leadership.
Groups of Asian Origin
At the beginning of the month of
November 2014 in Argentina, the
Guru Ricardo Javier Ocampo, better
known as Master Love, the leader
of the community Meditazen, was
accused of six counts of sexual abuse
and corruption of minors that took
place from 2000 to 2007 with younger
members of his cult. Before the trial,
Ocampo paid bail and is out awaiting
trial.
Occultism, Syncretism, and Satanism
On August 20, 2014, Argentinian police
uncovered an Umbanda cult in the
South of Buenos Aires. According to
the investigation, the group’s victims,
who were attracted through the group’s
activities, ended up in a physically
violent environment and robbed of
all of their belongings. During their
intervention, the police found 15
human skulls and other articles typical
of Umbanda rituals in the temple of the
cultic group.
The Bolivian Jesuit priest Miguel
Manzanera has confirmed in an article
published in the digital Catholic review
Iglesia Viva that not only animals but also
humans are still being sacrificed in Latin
America, just as in olden days. This goes
to show the popularity of esoteric rituals
on the continent today.
Other Groups
In August 2014, Mexican authorities
located an adept of the Lemurian
Embassy who had disappeared from
villas that the group keeps in the country
as an ecological project. The group is
looking for extraterrestrial life. This is
not the first cult of this kind that finds
its way into the newspapers in this
country. Before them we heard of the
Italian group, Italo-Apocalipticos.
In October and November 2014, the
world leader of the esoteric movement
Metaphysical, Ruben Cedeño from
Venezuela, visited Spain. Supposedly
Cedeño has written more than 400
books. He held some conferences in
several cities and presided over the
I Metaphysics Congress Andaluz on
Healing. Furthermore, this group has
reached the level of the University of
Granada Faculty of Law, presenting
classes there.
In Uruguay, there have been some
recent conflicts around the Colegio
Nueva Cultura—Logosia Method,
after which a group of parents of the
alumni were arrested in the educational
center on charges of violence and
psychological abuse against minors. The
center follows Logosofia, an esoteric
doctrine written by Carlos Bernardo
Gonzalez Pecotche, who is called
Maestro Raumsol by his followers. n
