VOLUME 6 |ISSUE 2 |2015 3941
ranking NYPD source said that the department has no direct
relationship with the group, which has asked police to come
to various dinners and events to speak about drug-prevention
programs. The source told the Daily News they have done this
“for many years … for any group that asks for it.” (New York Daily
News, 1/28/15)
Twelve Tribes defends use of sticks to discipline children
The Winnipeg-based Twelve Tribes has defended its physical
disciplining of children using a type of stick, even though
using anything other than one’s hand in this context can
be considered assault in Canada. The group’s spokesperson
Maurice Welch said the law interferes with parental authority.
Manitoba’s child-welfare authorities are looking into the group
after CBC’s story in late October. A Winnipeg man, Michael
Welch (no direct relation to Maurice Welch), who counted some
of the community’s members as friends, also has raised concern
about the group and joined it undercover for more than six
weeks last summer to investigate for himself.
Michael Welch said he knew he was deceiving the group in his
efforts to learn the truth about how they treat their children.
But “if the allegations ...were true, then I owed it to Stephanie
[his friend], her children and anyone else who may have
entered this arena to ascertain the truth,” he wrote in an opinion
piece for CBC.
Michael said it didn’t take long to find the instruments that
allegedly were used on children. He said he found 20 rods,
slender wooden sticks about 60 centimeters long, in numerous
locations over the course of his stay. He said he never saw
children being disciplined with the sticks firsthand, but he
was sure it was happening. “Tribe members have admitted to
me that spanking takes place,” he wrote. “I came close on two
occasions to catching them in the act...”
In an interview with CBC, Michael maintained the children and
adults in the community are at risk. “The kids seem very closed
off from the wider world, so if there was something happening
in the community I’m not necessarily satisfied that it would be
dealt with in a responsible way,” he said, even though he also
said the people were kind to him.
The sect has been around some 50 years and has about 70
members in Winnipeg, 20 of whom are children. They live in
two homes in Armstrong’s Point and they own in a farm outside
of Winnipeg as well as a shop on Des Meurons Street.
Maurice Welch was asked whether he realized the group
could be breaking the law by disciplining children with a stick.
“We are aware of that,” he said. “But we are basing what we
do on the word of God. And the scriptures make it very clear.”
He said Twelve Tribes welcomes a Child and Family Services
investigation. He maintains the group answers to a higher
authority and has no plans to stop using rods to on its children.
(CBC News, 10/22/14)
Three-masted, 1700s-style, tall ship docks at Peanut Island
For a few short days in February, a 150-foot-long, three-masted,
tall ship planned to call a dock outside Peanut Island’s maritime
museum home. The vessel, called the Peacemaker, first
launched in 1989 and has a mast that towers 126 feet above the
water. Inside, it boasts brightly colored stained-glass windows,
mahogany-finished staterooms, and custom finishings, and
it houses a garage in the stern that’s meant for storing a
helicopter. Originally built as a personal yacht for a Brazilian
industrialist, it’s now owned and run by the Twelve Tribes
communal religious group, who purchased it in 2000 from the
private owner. By 2007, they were setting sail for the first time.
Since then, many visitors have toured it in cities around the
country, according to news reports about the ship’s travels.
The group sails the ship in the old-fashioned way to ports
across the United States and opens it to visitors eager to get a
look inside. “To see something like this that looks the way it was
back in the 17th century is fascinating for a lot of people,” said
Anthony Miller, the director of Palm Beach Maritime Museum,
which sits on Peanut Island. “You can see exactly how they used
to run these boats, and these boats used to join together all the
continents.” Added Peacemaker Capt. Lee Philips, “There’s just
something about these kind of ships that draw people.”
The Twelve Tribes members on board don’t push their beliefs
on guests, but will discuss them if asked, they said. “The ship
is something that serves us well,” Clinton said. “We like to let
others enjoy it, too.” (Sun Sentinel, 2/6/15)
Families urge Pope to intervene in cult case
The parents of so-called nuns with a Spanish sect have called
on the Pope to help convince the young women to leave The
Voice of the Serviam order, whose leader, Feliciano Miguel
Rosendo da Silva and his right-hand woman, self-proclaimed
nun Marta Paz Alonso, were detained on December 11th on
charges that included sexual abuse, money laundering, and
crimes against moral integrity. The nuns are self-ordained
without the blessing of the Catholic Church. Rosendo Da Silva’s
arrest came after former members of the sect spoke out about
the alleged abuse by the two leaders. One of the women said
that Rosendo da Silva claimed that “his semen contained the
body of Christ, and this way he would purify her,” according to
Spanish media reports.
The sect was previously called the Mandate and Order of
Saint Michael Archangel, with Rosendo da Silva changing its
name after he was expelled from the Roman Catholic diocese of
Tui in Galicia for “inappropriate behavior.” The sect had around
400 members at its peak in 2011. Most members then left
the group when Rosendo Da Silva was expelled from Tui and
moved to Madrid, but some 40 or so have remained faithful to
the sect even after its leaders’ arrests, prompting the concerned
parents to ask for help. The parents maintain that the sect
continues to receive economic help, including from three
priests from Madrid.
The families have received a letter from the Vatican’s
ambassador in Spain, Renzo Fratini, who offered his support
and put himself at their disposal. This support, together with
the veto by the Archbishop of Madrid against all activities by
The Voice of Serviam, has given the families hope of rescuing
their daughters. (The Local.es, 12/18/14)
Church members indicted for kidnap and assault of gay
man
Five members of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) in Spindale,
North Carolina have been indicted on kidnapping and assault
charges for allegedly attacking and beating a fellow church
member, who is gay. Matt Comer at QNotes reports that a grand
jury has indicted the men on second-degree kidnapping and
ranking NYPD source said that the department has no direct
relationship with the group, which has asked police to come
to various dinners and events to speak about drug-prevention
programs. The source told the Daily News they have done this
“for many years … for any group that asks for it.” (New York Daily
News, 1/28/15)
Twelve Tribes defends use of sticks to discipline children
The Winnipeg-based Twelve Tribes has defended its physical
disciplining of children using a type of stick, even though
using anything other than one’s hand in this context can
be considered assault in Canada. The group’s spokesperson
Maurice Welch said the law interferes with parental authority.
Manitoba’s child-welfare authorities are looking into the group
after CBC’s story in late October. A Winnipeg man, Michael
Welch (no direct relation to Maurice Welch), who counted some
of the community’s members as friends, also has raised concern
about the group and joined it undercover for more than six
weeks last summer to investigate for himself.
Michael Welch said he knew he was deceiving the group in his
efforts to learn the truth about how they treat their children.
But “if the allegations ...were true, then I owed it to Stephanie
[his friend], her children and anyone else who may have
entered this arena to ascertain the truth,” he wrote in an opinion
piece for CBC.
Michael said it didn’t take long to find the instruments that
allegedly were used on children. He said he found 20 rods,
slender wooden sticks about 60 centimeters long, in numerous
locations over the course of his stay. He said he never saw
children being disciplined with the sticks firsthand, but he
was sure it was happening. “Tribe members have admitted to
me that spanking takes place,” he wrote. “I came close on two
occasions to catching them in the act...”
In an interview with CBC, Michael maintained the children and
adults in the community are at risk. “The kids seem very closed
off from the wider world, so if there was something happening
in the community I’m not necessarily satisfied that it would be
dealt with in a responsible way,” he said, even though he also
said the people were kind to him.
The sect has been around some 50 years and has about 70
members in Winnipeg, 20 of whom are children. They live in
two homes in Armstrong’s Point and they own in a farm outside
of Winnipeg as well as a shop on Des Meurons Street.
Maurice Welch was asked whether he realized the group
could be breaking the law by disciplining children with a stick.
“We are aware of that,” he said. “But we are basing what we
do on the word of God. And the scriptures make it very clear.”
He said Twelve Tribes welcomes a Child and Family Services
investigation. He maintains the group answers to a higher
authority and has no plans to stop using rods to on its children.
(CBC News, 10/22/14)
Three-masted, 1700s-style, tall ship docks at Peanut Island
For a few short days in February, a 150-foot-long, three-masted,
tall ship planned to call a dock outside Peanut Island’s maritime
museum home. The vessel, called the Peacemaker, first
launched in 1989 and has a mast that towers 126 feet above the
water. Inside, it boasts brightly colored stained-glass windows,
mahogany-finished staterooms, and custom finishings, and
it houses a garage in the stern that’s meant for storing a
helicopter. Originally built as a personal yacht for a Brazilian
industrialist, it’s now owned and run by the Twelve Tribes
communal religious group, who purchased it in 2000 from the
private owner. By 2007, they were setting sail for the first time.
Since then, many visitors have toured it in cities around the
country, according to news reports about the ship’s travels.
The group sails the ship in the old-fashioned way to ports
across the United States and opens it to visitors eager to get a
look inside. “To see something like this that looks the way it was
back in the 17th century is fascinating for a lot of people,” said
Anthony Miller, the director of Palm Beach Maritime Museum,
which sits on Peanut Island. “You can see exactly how they used
to run these boats, and these boats used to join together all the
continents.” Added Peacemaker Capt. Lee Philips, “There’s just
something about these kind of ships that draw people.”
The Twelve Tribes members on board don’t push their beliefs
on guests, but will discuss them if asked, they said. “The ship
is something that serves us well,” Clinton said. “We like to let
others enjoy it, too.” (Sun Sentinel, 2/6/15)
Families urge Pope to intervene in cult case
The parents of so-called nuns with a Spanish sect have called
on the Pope to help convince the young women to leave The
Voice of the Serviam order, whose leader, Feliciano Miguel
Rosendo da Silva and his right-hand woman, self-proclaimed
nun Marta Paz Alonso, were detained on December 11th on
charges that included sexual abuse, money laundering, and
crimes against moral integrity. The nuns are self-ordained
without the blessing of the Catholic Church. Rosendo Da Silva’s
arrest came after former members of the sect spoke out about
the alleged abuse by the two leaders. One of the women said
that Rosendo da Silva claimed that “his semen contained the
body of Christ, and this way he would purify her,” according to
Spanish media reports.
The sect was previously called the Mandate and Order of
Saint Michael Archangel, with Rosendo da Silva changing its
name after he was expelled from the Roman Catholic diocese of
Tui in Galicia for “inappropriate behavior.” The sect had around
400 members at its peak in 2011. Most members then left
the group when Rosendo Da Silva was expelled from Tui and
moved to Madrid, but some 40 or so have remained faithful to
the sect even after its leaders’ arrests, prompting the concerned
parents to ask for help. The parents maintain that the sect
continues to receive economic help, including from three
priests from Madrid.
The families have received a letter from the Vatican’s
ambassador in Spain, Renzo Fratini, who offered his support
and put himself at their disposal. This support, together with
the veto by the Archbishop of Madrid against all activities by
The Voice of Serviam, has given the families hope of rescuing
their daughters. (The Local.es, 12/18/14)
Church members indicted for kidnap and assault of gay
man
Five members of Word of Faith Fellowship (WOFF) in Spindale,
North Carolina have been indicted on kidnapping and assault
charges for allegedly attacking and beating a fellow church
member, who is gay. Matt Comer at QNotes reports that a grand
jury has indicted the men on second-degree kidnapping and
