sincere ...His thing started as a con,
and I think he’s come to believe
some of his own con, but he’s not
sincere at all.
(Scranton Times-Tribune, 12/18/13)
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Former members of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)
Becky McKinnon, 33, a Federal Aviation
Administration engineer, and her
boyfriend Timmy Chou, 56, who was once
a Mormon missionary, hand out cards
wherever they go, even in Utah. The cards
say, “Are you questioning the Mormon
church? Thinking about leaving the
Mormon church? Already left the Mormon
church? YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO IT
ALONE.”The cards list six websites,
including PostMormon.org, an online
community for ex-Mormons that has
9,275 registered members. (Newsweek,
1/30/14)
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Speaking at Westminster Magistrates’
Court, Senior District Judge Howard
Riddle has ruled that Thomas Monson,
president of the US-based Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will not
appear in a British court over claims some
of its teachings amount to fraud. The
judge has called the case brought by
former Church member Tom Phillips
against Monson an abuse of court
process, saying he was “satisfied that the
process of the court is being manipulated
to provide a high-profile forum to attack
the religious beliefs of others.” Malcolm
Adcock, the Church’s assistant director for
public affairs in Europe, concurred with
the judge’s views.
Phillips claimed Mr. Monson breached the
Fraud Act by seeking money using
“untrue or misleading” statements.
Between February 2008 and December
2013 Mr. Monson allegedly induced two
men to pay an “annual tithe” based on
untrue teachings related to human
history on earth, the source and accuracy
of Joseph Smith’s Book of Mormon
translations, and the descendancy of
Native Americans.
The summons, signed by District Judge
Elizabeth Roscoe, ordered Mr. Monson to
appear at Westminster and threatened
arrest if he did not. But Judge Riddle ruled
the threat of arrest was “wrong” and
should not have been made. He described
the attempted prosecution as “tenuous”,
with no chance of ever making it to trial.
“To convict, a jury would need to be sure
that the religious teachings of the
Mormon Church are untrue or
misleading,” he said. And “no judge in a
secular court in England and Wales would
allow that issue to be put to a jury.”
BBC religious-affairs correspondent
Robert Pigott said a court decision to
pursue the case would have had
“awkward implications” for other
religions, and that a “ruling against the
literal truth of Adam and Eve” could have
been seen as the “start of a slippery slope”
of legal challenges to religious beliefs.
(BBC News/UK, 3/20/14)
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
A recent lawsuit by Heather Kool, 38, and
a related new video documentary raise
allegations of sexual abuse in the 1980s
by members of the Jesus People USA
evangelical commune. The lawsuit names
the commune and the Chicago-based
Evangelical Covenant Church that has
considered the Jesus People one of its
congregations since 1989. Kool’s lawsuit
does not identify anyone who allegedly
abused her.
Larry Eskridge, a Wheaton College
professor and author of God’s Forever
Family, a recent book about the
movement, said the Chicago group
formed in 1972 established its own
identity as street evangelists. “Jesus
People USA was emblematic of the
movement. … Hardcore hippie converts,
drug culture—they really fit that mold
because they were full-time and
communal. It was kind of a go-to group in
the Jesus People movement.”
The legal action by Kool sets the stage for a
new documentary in which she and a half-
dozen others share their accounts of
alleged abuse at the religious commune. In
the film, Kool describes growing up in the
commune and the alleged abuse. Referring
to the allegation that she was ostracized
for telling an adult, she added, “I didn’t
know I would be isolated like I was. I
probably never would have told anybody.”
Filmmaker Jaime Prater, 37, said he also
was sexually abused while his family lived
in the commune and was punished for
reporting the abuse. In a letter obtained
by the Tribune, Kool’s lawyers have
warned the Evangelical Covenant Church
that 17 others, including Prater, are
considering legal action if leaders don’t
agree to a private mediation. Kool’s
lawyers did not respond to repeated
requests for comment.
Prater said his documentary began as a
collective ode to growing up inside the
commune. But when he interviewed Kool
in 2011 and he realized he was not the
only one who allegedly had been abused,
its focus shifted. And as soon as he
uploaded clips of the film to a private
Facebook page for former members, other
allegations poured in. In at least one case,
multiple generations of the same family
said they had been abused. That, he said,
left him no choice. “It’s one thing if you
have a church and a kid gets molested
and you do the right thing,” he said in the
film. “Jesus People did not do the right
thing.”
Ed Gilbreath, executive director of
communications for the Evangelical
Covenant Church, said the denomination
has not reviewed the documentary and
can’t comment on specific allegations or
pending litigation. “We are aware and
concerned for all parties involved … We
take these matters very seriously.”
According to church officials, the
denomination does not have the
authority to remove leaders from member
churches, which are considered
autonomous. But it does reserve the right
to revoke clergy credentials. Neil Taylor, a
pastoral leader for Jesus People USA, said,
“How we are having to respond is
basically not to respond, based on advice
we have received from lawyers.”
Eric Pement, a member of the commune
from 1976 to 2000, recalls that sexual
abuse allegations almost always resulted
in the person being asked to leave. “I was
extremely surprised by many of the
allegations,” said Pement. “It would have
been standard community policy that the
person would be asked to leave. We
always side with the victim. It was a just a
standard policy there.” (Chicago Tribune,
2/27/14)
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Retired British clinical psychologist
Katharine [sic] Mair has written Abused by
Therapy, which discusses the issue of false
memories. “There is an ongoing
campaign by groups and clinics,” she says,
to spread the notion that various
psychological disorders are always
caused by childhood abuse... The
therapists encouraging these
“memories” genuinely believe they
are helping and, being in a position
of authority, are able to convince
clients that these visions [of sexual
abuse] really did happen.
(Daily Mail 2/10/14)
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
30 ICSA TODAY
and I think he’s come to believe
some of his own con, but he’s not
sincere at all.
(Scranton Times-Tribune, 12/18/13)
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Former members of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)
Becky McKinnon, 33, a Federal Aviation
Administration engineer, and her
boyfriend Timmy Chou, 56, who was once
a Mormon missionary, hand out cards
wherever they go, even in Utah. The cards
say, “Are you questioning the Mormon
church? Thinking about leaving the
Mormon church? Already left the Mormon
church? YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO IT
ALONE.”The cards list six websites,
including PostMormon.org, an online
community for ex-Mormons that has
9,275 registered members. (Newsweek,
1/30/14)
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Speaking at Westminster Magistrates’
Court, Senior District Judge Howard
Riddle has ruled that Thomas Monson,
president of the US-based Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will not
appear in a British court over claims some
of its teachings amount to fraud. The
judge has called the case brought by
former Church member Tom Phillips
against Monson an abuse of court
process, saying he was “satisfied that the
process of the court is being manipulated
to provide a high-profile forum to attack
the religious beliefs of others.” Malcolm
Adcock, the Church’s assistant director for
public affairs in Europe, concurred with
the judge’s views.
Phillips claimed Mr. Monson breached the
Fraud Act by seeking money using
“untrue or misleading” statements.
Between February 2008 and December
2013 Mr. Monson allegedly induced two
men to pay an “annual tithe” based on
untrue teachings related to human
history on earth, the source and accuracy
of Joseph Smith’s Book of Mormon
translations, and the descendancy of
Native Americans.
The summons, signed by District Judge
Elizabeth Roscoe, ordered Mr. Monson to
appear at Westminster and threatened
arrest if he did not. But Judge Riddle ruled
the threat of arrest was “wrong” and
should not have been made. He described
the attempted prosecution as “tenuous”,
with no chance of ever making it to trial.
“To convict, a jury would need to be sure
that the religious teachings of the
Mormon Church are untrue or
misleading,” he said. And “no judge in a
secular court in England and Wales would
allow that issue to be put to a jury.”
BBC religious-affairs correspondent
Robert Pigott said a court decision to
pursue the case would have had
“awkward implications” for other
religions, and that a “ruling against the
literal truth of Adam and Eve” could have
been seen as the “start of a slippery slope”
of legal challenges to religious beliefs.
(BBC News/UK, 3/20/14)
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
A recent lawsuit by Heather Kool, 38, and
a related new video documentary raise
allegations of sexual abuse in the 1980s
by members of the Jesus People USA
evangelical commune. The lawsuit names
the commune and the Chicago-based
Evangelical Covenant Church that has
considered the Jesus People one of its
congregations since 1989. Kool’s lawsuit
does not identify anyone who allegedly
abused her.
Larry Eskridge, a Wheaton College
professor and author of God’s Forever
Family, a recent book about the
movement, said the Chicago group
formed in 1972 established its own
identity as street evangelists. “Jesus
People USA was emblematic of the
movement. … Hardcore hippie converts,
drug culture—they really fit that mold
because they were full-time and
communal. It was kind of a go-to group in
the Jesus People movement.”
The legal action by Kool sets the stage for a
new documentary in which she and a half-
dozen others share their accounts of
alleged abuse at the religious commune. In
the film, Kool describes growing up in the
commune and the alleged abuse. Referring
to the allegation that she was ostracized
for telling an adult, she added, “I didn’t
know I would be isolated like I was. I
probably never would have told anybody.”
Filmmaker Jaime Prater, 37, said he also
was sexually abused while his family lived
in the commune and was punished for
reporting the abuse. In a letter obtained
by the Tribune, Kool’s lawyers have
warned the Evangelical Covenant Church
that 17 others, including Prater, are
considering legal action if leaders don’t
agree to a private mediation. Kool’s
lawyers did not respond to repeated
requests for comment.
Prater said his documentary began as a
collective ode to growing up inside the
commune. But when he interviewed Kool
in 2011 and he realized he was not the
only one who allegedly had been abused,
its focus shifted. And as soon as he
uploaded clips of the film to a private
Facebook page for former members, other
allegations poured in. In at least one case,
multiple generations of the same family
said they had been abused. That, he said,
left him no choice. “It’s one thing if you
have a church and a kid gets molested
and you do the right thing,” he said in the
film. “Jesus People did not do the right
thing.”
Ed Gilbreath, executive director of
communications for the Evangelical
Covenant Church, said the denomination
has not reviewed the documentary and
can’t comment on specific allegations or
pending litigation. “We are aware and
concerned for all parties involved … We
take these matters very seriously.”
According to church officials, the
denomination does not have the
authority to remove leaders from member
churches, which are considered
autonomous. But it does reserve the right
to revoke clergy credentials. Neil Taylor, a
pastoral leader for Jesus People USA, said,
“How we are having to respond is
basically not to respond, based on advice
we have received from lawyers.”
Eric Pement, a member of the commune
from 1976 to 2000, recalls that sexual
abuse allegations almost always resulted
in the person being asked to leave. “I was
extremely surprised by many of the
allegations,” said Pement. “It would have
been standard community policy that the
person would be asked to leave. We
always side with the victim. It was a just a
standard policy there.” (Chicago Tribune,
2/27/14)
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Retired British clinical psychologist
Katharine [sic] Mair has written Abused by
Therapy, which discusses the issue of false
memories. “There is an ongoing
campaign by groups and clinics,” she says,
to spread the notion that various
psychological disorders are always
caused by childhood abuse... The
therapists encouraging these
“memories” genuinely believe they
are helping and, being in a position
of authority, are able to convince
clients that these visions [of sexual
abuse] really did happen.
(Daily Mail 2/10/14)
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
30 ICSA TODAY
