Cult News

President Bush has recently appointed David L. Caprara his new director of VISTA, reports The Washington Post.

Caprara’s previous job was heading an organization closely associated with Rev. Sun Myung Moon called the “American Family Coalition.” Just one of a myriad of front organizations ultimately controlled by the founder of the Unification Church.

A quick perusal of the American Family Coalition website reveals they heavily promote “faith based programs.”

Will Mr. Caprara become Rev. Moon’s mole at VISTA?

Caprara also did well during the last Bush administration. The first President Bush made him an official within the Housing and Urban Development Department.

The Bush family has longstanding ties to Rev. Moon, who has paid Bush Sr. millions of dollars to show up and speak at various venues, which ultimately promotes the public persona of Moon.

What’s up now with the second Bush White House?

Is the son following in his father’s footsteps and doing a little “Moon-walking”?

Bill Clinton was the best friend in the White House Scientology ever had.

Is the Bush family now picking its own special “cult” to be friendly with? Or is this all just a strange coincidence?

Jeffrey Hadden 66, who taught religious studies at the University of Virginia, died this past Sunday of cancer, reports Associated Press.

The AP says the professor’s “work promoted religious tolerance.”

However, Hadden can instead easily be seen as a “cult apologist” who focused much of his energy in later life on defending groups called “cults.”

Hadden worked closely with Rev. Moon’s Unification Church and was recommended as an expert by Scientology.

However, Hadden insisted that such groups not be called “cults,” but instead “new religious movements.”

A confidential memo written by Hadden during 1989 and later made public revealed a network of academics, scholars and related operatives who sought to neutralize and/or discredit criticism of cults. Hadden hoped that these efforts might be funded by “cult” organizations.

Academics like Hadden, became increasingly controversial and some scholars saw them as a source for potential “public scandal.”

Rutgers Professor of Sociology Benjamin Zablocki said, “The sociology of religion can no longer avoid the unpleasant ethical question of how to deal with the large sums of money being pumped into the field by the religious groups being studied…in the form of subvention of research expenses, subvention of publications, opportunities to sponsor and attend conferences, or direct fees for services, this money is not insignificant, and its influence on research findings and positions taken on scholarly disputes is largely unknown. This is an issue that is slowly but surely building toward a public scandal.”

Jeffrey Hadden was the recipient of such “sums of money.” One example is his defense of Scientology as a paid expert in court.

Hadden’s website, which the AP refers to as a “comprehensive” resource about “religious movements,” was actually a part of the professor’s ongoing effort to defend “cults” and discredit their critics.

The AP claims Hadden believed in “tolerance and freedom,” but he was often intolerant of former cult members that exposed abuses and his confidential memo does not seem to encourage freedom of expression, at least not for those who disagreed with his views.

During the 90s as acts of cult violence, scandal, suicide and/or abuse became more commonplace, Hadden’s apologies rang hollow. And subsequently his importance and influence as an objective serious scholar waned.

In the end, though some “cults” may lament the loss of a friend and defender, much of Jeffrey Hadden’s work as an academic scholar seems suspect.

Rev. Moon, founder of the Unification Church, is calling upon his devotees to go to Korea and “witness for peace,” reports The Billings Gazette.

In Montana the Unification Church is now called “The Family Church of Billings.” Its pastor hopped a flight for Seoul on Monday and an elder followed two days later.

One of the Moon devotees said, “We hope to relieve the tension.”

Perhaps things are getting a bit tense for Rev. Moon. The self-proclaimed “messiah” has sunk $55 million dollars in North Korea, through a company he owns called Pyonghwa Motors.

A Montana Moon follower said, “If there is an opportunity to go to North Korea, I’d go.”

It’s hard to believe that Moon, the supposedly conservative and staunchly anti-Communist owner of the Washington Times, or his followers, would want to help Communist North Korea, but they do.

Maybe it’s nostalgia? Moon was once held prisoner in North Korea for two years.

Perhaps Kim Jong Il the “Great Leader” of North Korea and Rev. Moon the “messiah” have more in common than meets the eye, after all they have both been called totalitarian “cult leaders.” And both men conrol billions of dollars as a result of that status.

Rev. Moon has spent $2 billion dollars on the Washington Times and the newspaper has never made money. Every year it’s in the red, reports The Columbia Journalism Review.

The newspaper is something of a sinkhole if you look at it purely from the standpoint of profit and loss.

The Times also runs a distant second for circulation within the D.C. area, pulling about one-eighth the rate of the Washington Post. Likewise its percentage of advertising is almost one-half the industry average.

Sounds pretty bad doesn’t it?

This all doesn’t seem to bother Rev. Moon who apparently bought the paper for status and ego-fulfillment within the beltway and to garner political influence.

However, will the Moon family continue to support this financial loser after the old man is gone?

Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the Unification Church and its reigning “messiah,” may be nearing the end of his life. He is an now an octogenarian and some say a bit senile.

After his death the Moon heirs may decide to cut their losses and only keep businesses that make money. This may mean liquidation for the Times.

The staff at the Washington Times must hope that Father Moon will follow in the footsteps of South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond, who recently retired at a 100.

But perhaps they should keep their resumes ready.

It looks like a friendly relationship continues to develop between Louis Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam and Rev. Moon’s Unification Church.

Unification Church members literally rolled out the “red carpet” for Mother Tynnetta Muhammad, a leader within the Nation of Islam. She was on a tour apparently sponsored by the Moon organization during December, reports the Nation of Islam’s “Final Call.”

The growing friendship and collaboration between Minister Farrakhan and Rev. Moon is interesting. Farrakhan is reportedly short of cash, and Moon is flush with it.

Moon has often given large amounts of money to ailing ministries, such as Jerry Falwell. Falwell has appeared at Moon functions and there seems to be a “quid pro quo” understanding in such situations. Specifically, Moon gives cash apparently in exchange for photo ops and seeming endorsements.

Moon has made some inroads within the African American community, but this has typically been through Christian clergy. Now it appears he hopes to include Black Muslims in his ongoing effort to gain greater influence.

Senator Richard Lugar, the incoming chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, found time in his busy schedule last week to help out Rev. Sung Myung Moon.

The Indianna Republican attended a conference at a Washington hotel sponsored by the “Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace,” one of many front organizations used by Moon’s Unification Church.

Lugar was the “keynote” speaker, which drew many Washington notables reports the Washington Times, a newspaper controlled by Moon.

Rev. Moon was ultimately honored for his “33 years of activity in United States.” What “activity” is that? Critics say Moon’s activities in the US include “cult recruitment” and “brainwashing.” But of course that wasn’t mentioned.

It is also unlikely that Lugar and others who attended the coference discussed Rev. Moon role as a self-proclaimed “messiah,” supposedly sent by God to finish the job Jesus never completed. Or that Moon not long ago officiated over the marriage of Jesus in “spirit world,” so that the Savior of the New Testament would be able to enter heaven.

At the conference Lugar said, “The United States of America has in many ways rediscovered the world,” but apparently the senator hasn’t discovered much about Rev. Moon, or he’s deliberately ignoring it.

George H. Bush has a history of cooperation with Rev. Moon, who has paid the former president millions of dollars for speaking engagements internationally. Barbara Bush often accompanied her husband.

There were repeated pleas made to the Bush family from affected families devastated by the Moon “cult” to cease their seeming support. But despite those appeals they continued to appear at such events.

Mr. and Mrs. Bush Sr. claim Moon shares their “family values.”

Huh?

What “family values” would those be, maybe mass marriage ceremonies?

President George W. Bush had a representative at the recent Moon conference. James Towey, director of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives was there. Towey said he hoped the administration would have “better results” in the coming year regarding the funding of “faith based” social welfare programs.

Does Rev. Moon hope to benefit from such funding?

Moon apparently stages these self-serving events for more than just his ego, they promote the impression that he is a “world leader.” Unlike Jesus, Moon is not an apolitical “messiah.”

And when well-recognized leaders like Lugar agree to speak at such events they help Moon succeed with that agenda, which assists the Unification Church in the recruitment and retention of members.

At the conference the Indianna senator observed that “ignorance…is inexcusable as well as dangerous,”

Shouldn’t this Hoosier heed his own advice? Lugar’s seemingly willful “ignorance” of how Moon is using him is clearly both “inexcusable” and potentially “dangerous.”

Michael Guillen, the so-called “independent journalist” recruited by Clonaid CEO and Raelian bishop Brigette Boisselier to verify her clone claims, turns out to be an old friend, reports the Boston Globe.

Guillen is a Ph.D. and former ABC science reporter for “Good Morning America.” He joined Boisselier at a recent news conference in Florida to announce his role as a supposedly objective expert, who would organize a “scientific team” to verify Clonaid’s claims.

However, in a recent interview Boisselier’s “spiritual leader” Rael (a.k.a Claude Vorilhon) said, ”I know he is very good friends with Dr. Boisselier. I think they communicated from the beginning. He was the first to make a positive interview about the project. I think that’s why she gave him priority.”

“Positive interview”? This appears to be Rael-speak for a “puff piece.”

Have Boisselier and the Raelians essentially stacked the deck?

Cult groups frequently recruit supposedly “independent experts,” that are often “friends,” to report about them and present papers. These academics have been called “cult apologists.”

Many “cult apologists” eventually cash in, either as expert witnesses defending destructive cults in court cases, or through future funding of book projects and “research.”

Bob Giles, curator of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard said Guillen “crossed a line of independence by appearing to be part of the team that is making the announcement.”

The former ABC reporter says he is “unpaid,” but is there some understanding between this self-described “free lance journalist” and the Raelians? If so, he certainly wouldn’t be the first Ph.D. recruited by a “cult” to provide cover and/or some “positive” spin.

Giles observed, ”It always raises ethical questions when a journalist works under the auspices of an organization such as this group.”

So far Guillen has not identified the supposed “world class experts” he expects to include on his “team” to verify Clonaid’s specious claims.

How will this verification be done? Supposedly by sending blood samples to “world class” DNA labs for testing. Guillen says he has already picked the “expert” to draw the blood, but some observers are skeptical and raising serious questions about the process and Guillen’s past performance.

Robert Park, author of a book on pseudo-science said, “How can they be sure that the samples really came from the mother and the child?”

A pathology professor at Washington University in St. Louis reiterated this point; “An absolutely neutral party has to obtain the samples. From point zero on, the arbitrator must be involved in the whole process. He or she must actually choose the laboratory that is going to do the analysis,” reports Knight Ridder Newspapers.

Giles inferred that without hard scientific evidence made public any alleged “verification” the journalist offers should not be taken too seriously.

Is Guillen simply preparing another “puff piece” for his “friends”? Is this another foray for the former ABC reporter into the realm of “Voodoo Science,” or is it a serious scientific inquiry to establish the facts?

Michael Guillen may have a Ph.D., but he has been “derided in Scientific circles for being overly fond of the paranormal,” reports Desert News.

Guillen’s past work is scrutinized within Park’s book, “Voodoo Science.” The author says the former science reporter has labeled astrology and psychokinesis “as open scientific questions, which they are not.”

It seems now that the real story emerging isn’t the “first human clone.” Increasingly it seems instead to be how Clonaid’s groundless claims became the focus of hard news coverage. Cloning may be part of Boisselier’s bizarre belief system, but why did a cable news network run her Raelian rant as “breaking news”?

CNN seems to have essentially given away 30 minutes of network time for a “cult” infomercial.

Rael must be pleased. What would that time have cost him if the “cult leader” had to pay for it? And there wasn’t even a disclaimer.

The so-called “press conference” seemed like little more than brazen self-promotion for the Raelians and their for-profit company Clonaid. And only those reporters approved by Boisselier were allowed to attend. Half of the media-representitives that came to cover the announcement at the Holiday Inn in Hollywood, Florida were “banned,” reports the Globe and Mail.

One couple has already stepped forward to call Clonaid “nothing more than a slick con,” after being taken for $500,000.00 by Boisselier who promised the parents a clone of their dead son, reports the Sunday Mail.

What’s next for CNN? Will they give a Unification Church spokesperson 30 minutes to announce that Rev. Moon’s mission has been confirmed in heaven? That story was run as paid ad in newspapers, not a news item.

CNN has lost credibility by providing a platform for the Raelians to make their claims without scientific evidence.

Who vetted this story?

The followers of Rael can be expected to uncritically accept whatever their leaders say, but what’s CNN’s excuse?

The announcement of the “first human clone” was clearly not a legitimate news story. Without peer-reviewed supporting proof first verified by the scientific community, all Boisselier’s statements amounted to was little more than prattle about her fanciful beliefs and “spiritual leader.”

And as for Boisselier, she is a major stockholder in Clonaid and stands to personally benefit from recent media exposure. The Clonaid CEO is also a member of the “Order of Angels” waiting to be a “hostess” for humanity’s space alien creators when they land on Earth, reports the Miami Herald.

How could someone like this be taken seriously as a credible source by a news network?

Obviously, CNN should have done the necessary research before giving Clonaid airtime. And by failing to do so CNN appears to be more like a supermarket tabloid than a cable news network.

What’s next on CNN, “Woman impregnated by outer space alien through artificial insemination gives birth”? Wait a minute, that’s Rael’s other story.

Fundamentalist Christian and televangelist Jerry Falwell is being compared to cult leaders on an Internet website and he is mad about it, reports Associated Press.

The Virginia preacher is so incensed he has taken the site’s owner and creator to court.

The website puts Falwell on a list of “false prophets” with Jim Jones and David Koresh.

It seems doubtful though that the lawsuit will succeed and it apparently has drawn more attention to the website.

Interestingly, Jerry Falwell remains friendly with a man many have called a “cult leader.” The founder of the Unification Church Rev. Sun Myung Moon, has given the Baptist minister subtantial checks and Falwell has seemingly reciprocated by appearing repeatedly at Moon functions.

It seems ironic that Rev. Falwell is so upset about being lumped together with cult leaders, when he is so tight with one. That friendship seems particularly ironic, since Moon claims to be the “messiah” supposedly sent by “God” to finish the job Jesus failed to complete.

You would think that this would upset any good Baptist? But apparently not Jerry Falwell, or at least not it seems if the so-called “messiah” has money and is generous.

Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo caused a scandal when he married a follower of Rev. Moon in a mass wedding officiated by the “cult leader.” It is unclear if that marriage was ever consummated.

But after more than a year of rehabilitation and maybe some “deprogramming” the prelate is back in action. He renounced his marriage and explained that he might have been “brainwashed.”

Ironically his former “Moonie” bride claimed it was the Catholic Church who “brainwashed” her husband and is now controlling him through undue influence.

It is somewhat bizarre that the Unification Church, so often accused of “brainwashing,” would now be willing to offer this as an explanation for the bishop’s change of heart. Rev. Moon and his apologists have often said there is no such thing as “cult brainwashing.”

Apparently when someone rejects them, such a position can be revised.

Milingo is now approved to resume his clerical duties. He recently led his first mass in some time, reports Reuters.

Looking back over the curious saga of the bishop and the “cult,” it seems what started as a clever propaganda ploy ultimately backfired on the Unification Church. They not only lost the bishop, but “lost face” too.

Instead of getting good press for the Rev. Moon, Milingo’s story proved once again that the church often engages in strange behavior. However, it’s doubtful that its would-be “messiah” will mend his ways.

More likely is that Bishop Milingo has learned something about the world of cults through his painful personal experience. And perhaps the Pope and his Curia have come to realize that even a bishop can be vulnerable to “mind control.”

Many experts have noted that not only has the number of groups called “cults” has grown substantially in the past twenty years, they have also gained considerable momentum and influence within the United States.

A featured presentation about destructive cults at the 2002 annual convention for the American Psychological Association (APA) drew this comment from its President Dr. Philip G. Zimbardo, “When some organizations that promote religious or self-growth agendas become rich enough to wield power to suppress media exposés, influence legal judgments or publicly defame psychology, how can they be challenged?”

Zimbardo observations were published within the APA’s Monitor.

Groups that have often been called “cults” such as Scientology and Rev. Moon’s Unification Church have in fact become “rich enough” to “wield the power” Zimbardo talks about. Within the United States and internationally these two “cults” alone control billions of dollars.

Scientology and the Unification Church have acquired political power that reaches all the way to the White House. This was demonstrated by Scientology’s unprecedented access during the Clinton Administration and the special relationship Rev. Moon has with the Bush Family.

It remains to be seen how Moon’s influence may impact the so-called “Faith Based Initiative” proposed by President George W. Bush, which would fund religious programs with government money.

Rev. Moon’s influence on Capital Hill cannot be denied. He has become part of its establishment, largely through control of the Washington Times. And Moon also courts religious and political leaders through banquets, celebrations and conferences, which are well attended.

Groups like Scientology and the Unification Church also have funded efforts to “suppress media” and “influence legal judgements.”

Scientology has arguably turned litigation into something of a religious rite.

Time Magazine published the cover story, “Scientology: The Cult of Greed,” and was promptly sued for $400 million dollars. Even though Scientology lost, the litigation cost Time millions of dollars and took years to resolve. This produced a substantial chilling effect within the media, which served to suppress stories about the controversial church in the United States.

Likewise, Scientology has made a point of going after its critics personally. This has included defamation, libel and personal injury. The net result is that many that might expose the group don’t—due it seems largely to fear.

The Unification Church has frequently funded efforts to “influence legal judgements.” Notably an ongoing campaign through academic surrogates to discredit research about cults.

Some years ago the APA itself became involved through the filing of a “friend of the court brief.” That brief effectively would have helped the Unification Church in its defense regarding a personal injury lawsuit filed by a former member. However, the brief was later withdrawn.

Dr. Dick Anthony was the psychologist largely responsible for that effort. Anthony continues to work for groups called “cults” and is paid $3,500 per day for his efforts. One of his employers is Scientology, which also recommends him, through a front organization called the “reformed Cult Awareness Network.”

Defenders of “cults” such as Anthony are anxious to disprove the “theory of mind control.”

However, Zimbardo has acknowledged the existence of mind control. He stated, “Mind control is the process by which individual or collective freedom of choice and action is compromised by agents or agencies that modify or distort perception, motivation, affect, cognition and/or behavioral outcomes.”

But how does this ultimately affect the general public?

In a survey done in 1980 by Zimbardo of more than 1,000 high school students in the San Francisco Bay area 54% reported a cult had attempted to recruit them and 40% said they had experienced multiple attempts.

Certainly on college campuses groups like the “International Church of Christ” (ICC), which has often been called a “cult,” are very active. The ICC has been banned by many colleges and universities, due largely to its aggressive recruitment practices.

And cults are not restricted exclusively to large metropolitan areas or schools. They are increasingly active in small towns and rural areas. In some situations groups called “cults” eventually exercise considerable influence within the small communities they inhabit.

A recent example is the “Fellowship of Friends,” which has been called a “cult.” The group led by Robert Burton has a troubled history in Yuba County, a rural area in California. Likewise the group known as the “Twelve Tribes” has moved into small towns in upstate New York.

The parallels between cults and terrorist groups cannot be ignored.

A charismatic and totalitarian leader who supposedly speaks for God dominates many terrorist groups, not unlike destructive cults.

What is the difference ultimately then, between suicide at Jonestown and the suicide bombers of al-Qaeda?

Each group had devoted followers willing to die for its cause. Jim Jones called this an act of “revolutionary suicide,” Osama bin-Laden said it was “Jihad.” But in the end the mindset is the same.

In the end the only practical difference between bin Laden and Jim Jones is the level of destruction wrought by their madness. The group dynamics that produce the tragedy are essentially the same.

Zimbardo concluded, “Understanding the dynamics and pervasiveness of situational power is essential to learning how to resist it and to weaken the dominance of the many agents of mind control who ply their trade daily on all of us behind many faces and fronts.”

It seems that “mind control” has become a modern mental health hazard. However, this illness unlike others, can potentially affect more than the personal lives of individuals.

This was first made clear through a horrific gas attack upon Tokyo’s subways by the cult Aum in 1995.

Today that realization is even more painful whenever we see the changed Manhattan skyline.