VOLUME 2 |NUMBER 1 |2011 29
the 12th International Congress of
SIPR (Italian Society of Psychology of
Religion), entitled Me, Others, and
God, took place in Verona.
Among other sessions, the one enti-
tled “Charisma and Dependency in
Some Relational Environments” has
received particular interest by partici-
pants, among whom were some of
the most prominent representatives
of the academic world and profes-
sionals of this field (http://www.psi-
cologiadellareligione.it/sipr/mod-
ules/mydownloads/cache/files/43471
844595137733652183328427781-pro-
gramma.pdf).
The session, chaired by Raffaella Di
Marzio, included contributions by
Cristina Caparesi, Silvana Radoani,
Simonetta Po, Andrea Menegotto,
and Raffaella Di Marzio. It was an
important occasion for bringing to
the attention of the group of psychol-
ogists of religion the cultic studies
phenomenon and the controlling
dynamics that take place in numerous
religious and nonreligious environ-
ments. Di Marzio’s paper can be heard
in Italian at the following addresses:
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=2dyamMCPZx4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=5aEUuy8sT0g&feature=related
The other papers are available direct-
ly from the speakers.
The international conference Cultic
Groups in Society is on YouTube.
The International Conference Cultic
Groups in Society, organized in Rome
on September 18th and 19th, 2010, by
ICSA, Info-Secte, ONAP, SOS-Abusi Psi-
cologici, and SRS, is now on YouTube.
The video was created by some volun-
teers of SRS (Sette Religioni e Spiritual-
ità). Those interested in watching the
video can go to the following address:
http://www.youtube.com/
user/NUCUSENSO
A new agreement between SOS-
Abusi Psicologici and the Province of
Udine. SOS-Abusi Psicologici has just
renewed an agreement with the
Province of Udine to cooperate for
2011 in the project of the Antimob-
bing Center of Help. The association
will be giving its support to the
public center.
REPORT FROM Poland
Piotr T. Nowakowski, Ph.D.
On May 5, 2011 from 9:00 a.m. to
4:00 p.m. there was a conference,
“Controversies on Cults,” in Poznan,
Poland. Organized by the College of
Education and Administration in Poz-
nan, the conference enabled the rep-
resentatives of various academic and
professional circles to exchange their
views on controversies on cults. Its
aim was also to show the complexity
of this issue in relation to different
academic disciplines. There are
plans to publish the post-conference
proceedings.
Speakers include:
Prof. Stephen A. Kent
(Edmonton, Canada),
Personality Disorders among
Cult Leaders
Prof. Doni P. Whitsett
(Los Angeles, USA),
Controversies in Psychotherapy:
Therapy Cults, Recovery Issues
and Challenges
Prof. Adrian J Reimers,
Marie Reimers
(Notre Dame, USA),
Go with What You Know
Friedrich Griess
(Vienna, Austria),
Difficulties When Dealing with Cults
Nataliya Bezborodova
(Kiev, Ukraina),
Perception of the Other: From
Soviet Ideology to Cults' Attitude
Prof. Alexander L. Dvorkin
(Moscow, Russia),
Public Opinion and State vs
Cults from 1990-s to 2011
Arthur Buchman
(Charlottenlund, Denmark),
The Psychology of Cults
Daniel Lafargue
(Montegut-Arros, France),
French Associations Having Faced
Sectarian Drifts and Weakness
Abuses for the Last 30 Years
David Clark
(Swarthmore, USA),
Cult Intervention Work with
Families in Need
Dr Anna Angelova Marinova
(Sofia, Bulgaria),
Sectarian Approach in the
Bible Exegesis
Prof. Ivan Zhelev Dimitrov
(Sofia, Bulgaria),
The Term “Sect” in the Bulgarian
Public Life
Viktors Jolkins and
Aleksandrs Kuzmins
(Riga, Latvia),
Changes on the Sectarian Scene in
Latvia during the Economic Down-
turn in 2008-2010
Thomas Gandow and
Ute Gandow
(Berlin, Germany),
Controversies on Cults in
German Society: The Tom Cruise-
Stauffenberg-Case
Maxim Yurchenko and
Vladimir Petukhov (Kiev, Ukraine),
The Cults as Social Phenomenon
and Social Problem
Zoran D. Lukovic and
Andrej Rade Protic
(Belgrade, Serbia),
Methods of Cult Indoctrination in
Serbian Extremist Political Groups
There were also several speakers
from Poland.
For more information, write
Dr. Nowakowski:
nowakowski@maternus.pl
28 ICSA TODAY
manic Medicine” (NGM), who claims
that cancer, HIV, and the like do not
exist, and who has been imprisoned
because of mortal consequences of
his “treatment,” now has settled in
Sandefjord, Norway, where he
founded a private “university.” Obvi-
ously he has supporters and follow-
ers in several countries, and they
even organize musical events in Italy.
He supports the theory of a Jewish
conspiracy to kill all non-Jews by tra-
ditional cancer treatment, while
Jews are saved by NGM.
The Russian Grigori Grabovoi, who-
calls himself the “Second Savior” and
claims that he can raise people from
the dead, which he also promised to
parents of children killed in Beslan
(North Ossetia, September 2004), has
now, after having served 4 years in
prison because of fraud, established
an office in Hamburg. From there, his
co-workers organize seminars in Ger-
many, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy.
Recently, the Croatic healer Josip
Grbavac Braco has gained much
interest. People are carried by busses
to his sessions.
The German psychotherapist Bert
Hellinger is associated with a thera-
peutic method best known as Family
Constellations and Systemic Constel-
lations. In recent years, his work has
evolved beyond these formats into
what he now calls Movements of the
Spirit-Mind. Several thousand profes-
sional practitioners worldwide, influ-
enced by Hellinger but not necessar-
ily following him, continue to apply
and adapt his original insights to a
broad range of personal, organiza-
tional, and political applications
(source: Wikipedia). According to
critics, Hellinger’s method is consid-
ered to be esoteric and not in com-
pliance with scientific standards. He
also admires Adolf Hitler.
The spiritual healing by Bruno
Gröning, who died in 1959, still is
propagated by movies running in
several cinemas.
Pranaism (living from light) has
beenpromoted by the movie In the
Beginning Was the Light.
Indicative of a problem, one can see
that serious institutions admit or
support the teaching of question-
able practices within their fold. Thus,
the European University Viadrina in
Frankfurt (Oder) has created a chair
for Ayurveda.
The Free High School Mannheim and
adult education are teaching Wal-
dorf pedagogies.
The Labor Exchange Office in Ham-
burg pays for retraining in Astrology.
The report of the Berlin Office for
Protection of the Constitution for
2009 (published 16 June 2010) con-
tains chapters about Islamic terror-
ism, Right extremism, Left extrem-
ism, Imported extremism: Kurdish,
Turkish Scientology.
REPORT FROM Italy
Dr. Cristina Caparesi and
Dr. Raffaella Di Marzio
News from Legionaries of
Christ Website
(http://www.legionariesofchrist.org)
Rome, Italy, December 11, 2010
Following authorization by the pon-
tifical delegate Cardinal Velasio De
Paolis, Fr. Alvaro Corcuera, LC, general
director of the Legion of Christ and
Regnum Christi, issued norms regard-
ing the figure of Fr. Marcial Maciel.
The decree formalizes in broad
strokes what has for the most part
already been general practice. Some
examples are:
In institutional writings, Fr. Maciel will
be referred to as “founder of the
Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi,”
or simply “Fr. Maciel.” Photographs of
the founder alone or with the Holy
Father cannot be placed in Legionary
or Regnum Christi centers. Dates hav-
ing to do with his person (birthday,
baptismal day, name day, and priestly
ordination anniversary) are not to
be celebrated.
The founder’s personal writings and
talks will not be for sale in the con-
gregation’s publishing houses, cen-
ters, and works of apostolate.
The crypt of the Cotija cemetery with
the mortal remains of the Maciel
Degollado family, Fr. Maciel, and oth-
ers will be given the value of any
other Christian burial place.
News about Opus Angelorum. Vati-
can City, 4 November 2010 (VIS—Vat-
ican Information Service)—A circular
letter issued by the Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith, dated 2
October 2010 and signed by Cardinal
William Joseph Levada, prefect of the
congregation, was published today
by L’Osservatore Romano. In its pres-
ent state, the Opus Angelorum is a
public association of the Church in
conformity with traditional doctrine
and with the directives of the Holy
See. The congregation has learned
that very discrete propaganda in
favour of this wayward movement,
which is outside of any ecclesiastical
control, is taking place, aimed at pre-
senting Opus Angelorum as if it were
in full communion with the Catholic
Church. The Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith, therefore, asks
ordinaries to be vigilant with regard
to such activities, disruptive as they
are of ecclesial communion, and to
forbid them if they are present within
their dioceses.
The document is published at this
URL: http://cultreligionspirituality.
blogspot.com/2010/12/congrega-
tion-for-doctrine-of-faith-on.html
Ex-Jehovah Witnesses demonstrate in
front of the House of Deputy. On
December 1st, 2010, a group of ex-
Jehovah Witnesses (JWs) has demon-
strated in front of the House of
Deputy in Rome for the way JWs
ostracize ex-members and even
divide family members. The demon-
stration has seen a number of ex-JWs,
although fewer than expected. Some
pictures of the event can be seen at
http://forum.infotdgeova.it/view-
topic.php?f=17&t=5436&start=0
12th International Congress, Me,
Others, and God: Religiosity and Nar-
cissism. On November 20th and 21st,
ICSA_volume3_proof6 5/10/11 12:14 PM Page 30
the 12th International Congress of
SIPR (Italian Society of Psychology of
Religion), entitled Me, Others, and
God, took place in Verona.
Among other sessions, the one enti-
tled “Charisma and Dependency in
Some Relational Environments” has
received particular interest by partici-
pants, among whom were some of
the most prominent representatives
of the academic world and profes-
sionals of this field (http://www.psi-
cologiadellareligione.it/sipr/mod-
ules/mydownloads/cache/files/43471
844595137733652183328427781-pro-
gramma.pdf).
The session, chaired by Raffaella Di
Marzio, included contributions by
Cristina Caparesi, Silvana Radoani,
Simonetta Po, Andrea Menegotto,
and Raffaella Di Marzio. It was an
important occasion for bringing to
the attention of the group of psychol-
ogists of religion the cultic studies
phenomenon and the controlling
dynamics that take place in numerous
religious and nonreligious environ-
ments. Di Marzio’s paper can be heard
in Italian at the following addresses:
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=2dyamMCPZx4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=5aEUuy8sT0g&feature=related
The other papers are available direct-
ly from the speakers.
The international conference Cultic
Groups in Society is on YouTube.
The International Conference Cultic
Groups in Society, organized in Rome
on September 18th and 19th, 2010, by
ICSA, Info-Secte, ONAP, SOS-Abusi Psi-
cologici, and SRS, is now on YouTube.
The video was created by some volun-
teers of SRS (Sette Religioni e Spiritual-
ità). Those interested in watching the
video can go to the following address:
http://www.youtube.com/
user/NUCUSENSO
A new agreement between SOS-
Abusi Psicologici and the Province of
Udine. SOS-Abusi Psicologici has just
renewed an agreement with the
Province of Udine to cooperate for
2011 in the project of the Antimob-
bing Center of Help. The association
will be giving its support to the
public center.
REPORT FROM Poland
Piotr T. Nowakowski, Ph.D.
On May 5, 2011 from 9:00 a.m. to
4:00 p.m. there was a conference,
“Controversies on Cults,” in Poznan,
Poland. Organized by the College of
Education and Administration in Poz-
nan, the conference enabled the rep-
resentatives of various academic and
professional circles to exchange their
views on controversies on cults. Its
aim was also to show the complexity
of this issue in relation to different
academic disciplines. There are
plans to publish the post-conference
proceedings.
Speakers include:
Prof. Stephen A. Kent
(Edmonton, Canada),
Personality Disorders among
Cult Leaders
Prof. Doni P. Whitsett
(Los Angeles, USA),
Controversies in Psychotherapy:
Therapy Cults, Recovery Issues
and Challenges
Prof. Adrian J Reimers,
Marie Reimers
(Notre Dame, USA),
Go with What You Know
Friedrich Griess
(Vienna, Austria),
Difficulties When Dealing with Cults
Nataliya Bezborodova
(Kiev, Ukraina),
Perception of the Other: From
Soviet Ideology to Cults' Attitude
Prof. Alexander L. Dvorkin
(Moscow, Russia),
Public Opinion and State vs
Cults from 1990-s to 2011
Arthur Buchman
(Charlottenlund, Denmark),
The Psychology of Cults
Daniel Lafargue
(Montegut-Arros, France),
French Associations Having Faced
Sectarian Drifts and Weakness
Abuses for the Last 30 Years
David Clark
(Swarthmore, USA),
Cult Intervention Work with
Families in Need
Dr Anna Angelova Marinova
(Sofia, Bulgaria),
Sectarian Approach in the
Bible Exegesis
Prof. Ivan Zhelev Dimitrov
(Sofia, Bulgaria),
The Term “Sect” in the Bulgarian
Public Life
Viktors Jolkins and
Aleksandrs Kuzmins
(Riga, Latvia),
Changes on the Sectarian Scene in
Latvia during the Economic Down-
turn in 2008-2010
Thomas Gandow and
Ute Gandow
(Berlin, Germany),
Controversies on Cults in
German Society: The Tom Cruise-
Stauffenberg-Case
Maxim Yurchenko and
Vladimir Petukhov (Kiev, Ukraine),
The Cults as Social Phenomenon
and Social Problem
Zoran D. Lukovic and
Andrej Rade Protic
(Belgrade, Serbia),
Methods of Cult Indoctrination in
Serbian Extremist Political Groups
There were also several speakers
from Poland.
For more information, write
Dr. Nowakowski:
nowakowski@maternus.pl
28 ICSA TODAY
manic Medicine” (NGM), who claims
that cancer, HIV, and the like do not
exist, and who has been imprisoned
because of mortal consequences of
his “treatment,” now has settled in
Sandefjord, Norway, where he
founded a private “university.” Obvi-
ously he has supporters and follow-
ers in several countries, and they
even organize musical events in Italy.
He supports the theory of a Jewish
conspiracy to kill all non-Jews by tra-
ditional cancer treatment, while
Jews are saved by NGM.
The Russian Grigori Grabovoi, who-
calls himself the “Second Savior” and
claims that he can raise people from
the dead, which he also promised to
parents of children killed in Beslan
(North Ossetia, September 2004), has
now, after having served 4 years in
prison because of fraud, established
an office in Hamburg. From there, his
co-workers organize seminars in Ger-
many, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy.
Recently, the Croatic healer Josip
Grbavac Braco has gained much
interest. People are carried by busses
to his sessions.
The German psychotherapist Bert
Hellinger is associated with a thera-
peutic method best known as Family
Constellations and Systemic Constel-
lations. In recent years, his work has
evolved beyond these formats into
what he now calls Movements of the
Spirit-Mind. Several thousand profes-
sional practitioners worldwide, influ-
enced by Hellinger but not necessar-
ily following him, continue to apply
and adapt his original insights to a
broad range of personal, organiza-
tional, and political applications
(source: Wikipedia). According to
critics, Hellinger’s method is consid-
ered to be esoteric and not in com-
pliance with scientific standards. He
also admires Adolf Hitler.
The spiritual healing by Bruno
Gröning, who died in 1959, still is
propagated by movies running in
several cinemas.
Pranaism (living from light) has
beenpromoted by the movie In the
Beginning Was the Light.
Indicative of a problem, one can see
that serious institutions admit or
support the teaching of question-
able practices within their fold. Thus,
the European University Viadrina in
Frankfurt (Oder) has created a chair
for Ayurveda.
The Free High School Mannheim and
adult education are teaching Wal-
dorf pedagogies.
The Labor Exchange Office in Ham-
burg pays for retraining in Astrology.
The report of the Berlin Office for
Protection of the Constitution for
2009 (published 16 June 2010) con-
tains chapters about Islamic terror-
ism, Right extremism, Left extrem-
ism, Imported extremism: Kurdish,
Turkish Scientology.
REPORT FROM Italy
Dr. Cristina Caparesi and
Dr. Raffaella Di Marzio
News from Legionaries of
Christ Website
(http://www.legionariesofchrist.org)
Rome, Italy, December 11, 2010
Following authorization by the pon-
tifical delegate Cardinal Velasio De
Paolis, Fr. Alvaro Corcuera, LC, general
director of the Legion of Christ and
Regnum Christi, issued norms regard-
ing the figure of Fr. Marcial Maciel.
The decree formalizes in broad
strokes what has for the most part
already been general practice. Some
examples are:
In institutional writings, Fr. Maciel will
be referred to as “founder of the
Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi,”
or simply “Fr. Maciel.” Photographs of
the founder alone or with the Holy
Father cannot be placed in Legionary
or Regnum Christi centers. Dates hav-
ing to do with his person (birthday,
baptismal day, name day, and priestly
ordination anniversary) are not to
be celebrated.
The founder’s personal writings and
talks will not be for sale in the con-
gregation’s publishing houses, cen-
ters, and works of apostolate.
The crypt of the Cotija cemetery with
the mortal remains of the Maciel
Degollado family, Fr. Maciel, and oth-
ers will be given the value of any
other Christian burial place.
News about Opus Angelorum. Vati-
can City, 4 November 2010 (VIS—Vat-
ican Information Service)—A circular
letter issued by the Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith, dated 2
October 2010 and signed by Cardinal
William Joseph Levada, prefect of the
congregation, was published today
by L’Osservatore Romano. In its pres-
ent state, the Opus Angelorum is a
public association of the Church in
conformity with traditional doctrine
and with the directives of the Holy
See. The congregation has learned
that very discrete propaganda in
favour of this wayward movement,
which is outside of any ecclesiastical
control, is taking place, aimed at pre-
senting Opus Angelorum as if it were
in full communion with the Catholic
Church. The Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith, therefore, asks
ordinaries to be vigilant with regard
to such activities, disruptive as they
are of ecclesial communion, and to
forbid them if they are present within
their dioceses.
The document is published at this
URL: http://cultreligionspirituality.
blogspot.com/2010/12/congrega-
tion-for-doctrine-of-faith-on.html
Ex-Jehovah Witnesses demonstrate in
front of the House of Deputy. On
December 1st, 2010, a group of ex-
Jehovah Witnesses (JWs) has demon-
strated in front of the House of
Deputy in Rome for the way JWs
ostracize ex-members and even
divide family members. The demon-
stration has seen a number of ex-JWs,
although fewer than expected. Some
pictures of the event can be seen at
http://forum.infotdgeova.it/view-
topic.php?f=17&t=5436&start=0
12th International Congress, Me,
Others, and God: Religiosity and Nar-
cissism. On November 20th and 21st,
ICSA_volume3_proof6 5/10/11 12:14 PM Page 30
