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REPORT MADE IN THE NAME OF THE BOARD OF INQUIRY INTO CULTS (VIVIEN REPORT) |
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II. A MULTIFORM PHENOMENON WITH COMPLEX EFFECTS It is particularly difficult to draw a complete picture of the sectarian phenomenon in France, because of the extreme diversity of the movements which make it up. The report of Mr. Alain Vivien divided, in 1982, the 116 sects listed into three categories: Eastern [or Oriental], syncretic and esoteric, racist and fascist. General Information recently adopted a step which makes it possible to refine the analysis considerably. We will explain the method adopted by the DCRG and the principal results of its study, such as they were communicated at the request of your commission. 1. Method adopted by General Information The step followed by General Information consists in attaching each movement studied to a "family" of thought or practice. Thirteen qualifiers were retained to carry out the classification, that it is appropriate, for the clarity of the analysis, to briefly specify. Analysis of the criteria of doctrinal qualification of the sects "New Age" Groups. Gathered under this qualifier were the organizations claiming nŽo-spiritualistic current referring to the absolute as "energy-consciousness" and implementing various techniques to connect the follower with this absolute. The New Age doctrines, popularized by a great number of authors, rest on the idea that the world is about to enter a new era, that of Aquarius, corresponding to a new spiritual awakening and marked by profound changes. They are thus based on a millenarism for the year 2000 (the millenium is the thousand years reign awaited before the day of the Last Judgement)./P> The holders of these doctrines often aim to define the destined new world religion, according to them, to replace the Christian religions of the Era of the Fish which supplanted the mosaic religions (Era of the Ram) and Babylonian religions (that of the Bull). As the dictionary of religions indicates, these doctrines are based on a certain number of convictions, among which are "reincarnation and the law of karma. The spiritual achievement as the objective of individual existence, and awakening with a planetary consciousness as the objective of collective existence, the divine nature of the interior consciousness, and the role of the body as a place of cosmic integration, an anthropology making place with the subtle, etheric, astral body; and a cosmology making place with the angels and the spirits, belief in a cosmic Christ animating the universe as a subtle energy, and in the existence of Christic embodiments, such as Jesus, coming periodically to guide humanity towards its spiritual destiny." The "alternative" groups They in general propose an organization different from the economic circuits, mode of production, world trade, human reports. The Humana France movement (schools TVIND) thus has as doctrines humanitarian aid (primarily devoted to the victims of famine, war, disease, catastrophes), assistance with promotion of projects in the Third World and studies aiming at contributing to research on the causes of poverty and suffering. The Humanistic Movement, founded in 1969 by Argentinian Mario Rodriguez Cobos, known as Silo, is based on the ideology of silo•sm, having for itself the goal of eradicating violence and personal suffering by means of personal development and social transformation. This movement is centered on solidarity, non-violence activity, non-discrimination, fight against the monopolies, co-operatives, and self-management. "Evangelic" and "pseudo-Catholic" groups . Gathered under these two qualifiers are movements which, while referring to the Christian tradition (Protestant in a case, Catholic in the other) are joined together around people (pastors, former priests) who develop a guru attitude. In the case of the "pseudo-catholic" groups, their doctrines are generally so far away from the theology of the Church that they are excluded from its communion. Among the most active evangelic groups , one can in particular list the Universal Alliance, the Evangelic Church of Pentecost of Besancon, the Family (ex Children of God) and, of course, the Moon sect. The Moon sect (Association for the Unification of World Christianity) professes the failure of Jesus, his poor death and without having been able to create a perfect family. It is allocated to the reverend Moon to create this family, in accordance with the wish even of Jesus Christ, who appeared to him in 1936. For the achievement of this objective, the reverend must in particular acquire an economic power which enables him to overcome Satan. This organization is very representative of the pure evangelic movements. Among the most active pseudo-Catholic movements, one will mention Invitation to the Intense Life (cf will infra), and Family Propriety Traditions [TFP], related to the association "Future of the Culture." The objective of TFP is to restore Christian civilization (campaigns of Future of the Culture against the Blue message service, distribution of condoms, campaigns of TFP against [les fils? the threads? possibly movies?] I greet you Marie, or the Temptation of Christ) but also to fight against land reform in Brazil (the founder of TFP is Brazilian Plinio Correa de Oliveira), against socialism and to restore monarchy. The "apocalyptic" movements They all predict a forthcoming world cataclysm (such as those already announced by the Jehovah's Witnesses with four repetitions for 1874, 1914, 1925 and 1975), while referring either to the Apocalypse of Saint John [Revelation], or with Hinduist doctrines of cycles. The "neo-pagan" movements Whereas from the Christian point of view, the pagan ones are the members of the people who have not been reached by Christian preaching or who have refused it, the concept of nŽo-paganism returns, with that of men referring to other gods than that of the Bible. The "neo-pagan" movements generally refer to Celtic or Scandinavian mythologies, even to animism. One will quote, for France, three movements professing such doctrines: the Monastic Order of Avallon, the Suicide of Banks [as in river banks] and Key of the Universe. The "Satanic" movements These movements have as a common point the return to a worship of the "Adversary" of Biblical tradition, Satan, in a plentiful demonology. Arising from this current are the following movements: Azazel Institute, the Initiatory Circle of the Western Unicorn, the Luciferian Philosophical Church, and the Crosses of the New Babylon. The Curing (or Healing) Movements One can define "curing" theories as those professing a mode of cure not recognized by current medical science. The degree of danger of these theories varies according to how much they supplement or replace more scientific techniques and the degree to which they involve or do not involve interactions with active substances prescribed by doctors. The curing movements are extremely varied. One of oldest is the Antoinist religion, founded by Louis Antoine at the end of the last century. The concept of disease is denied, just as is that of death (belief in the reincarnation): it is intelligence which creates suffering, it is only faith in and of itself which removes it, and not the intervention of health professionals. The movement HUE France (French branch of the Institute for Human and Universal Energy Reseach, Inc. - IHUERI) is connected with the more New Age or Eastern trends. The therapy suggested consists of "injecting universal energy into the organism of the patient (...) by freeing the channels of energy," thanks to an action consisting of keeping chakras open. All pathologies are covered by the techniques of the IHUERI. More recent and of Catholic appearance, the group Invitation to Intense Life (IVI) was founded in 1977 by Yvonne Trubert. The doctrines, founded on the assertion of the beneficial character of certain "harmonizations" and "vibrations", borrow from multiple theories, including medical ones. It should be noted that the curing movements recruit, in considerable proportions, from among health, medical or paramedical professionals, which one of the interlocutors of the Commission explained in the following way: "Today, many [m- (I assume "m" is an abbreviation for a doctor or nurse or some sort of health professional)] it is not me which will give an opinion - it is traditional. They thus seek new ways in the [ms (another abbreviation for a medical title? or perhaps an abbreviation for medical science?)] that one sees flowering: [mn (abbreviation for medical title?)] particular [m (abbreviation for medical title?)] yes [‚æ (abbreviation for medical title?)] I have found are in the train of newcomers thus has the guarantee of his [confrante?], I was going to say on a scientific level. It enters so the sect, it [y dle?]. All the gurus of which I have knowledge!" The "Eastern [or Oriental]" Movements One gathers under this referring qualifier an extreme diversity of movements, while canting them, with the religions and doctrines of Eastern metaphysics, such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Taoism. One can include in this trend the Association Sri Chinmoy of Paris, the Center of Mahatayma Meditation, the French Federation for Krishna Consciousness, Maha Shakti Maudir, the Snimi Atmananda Afma Bodha Satsanga Mission , Shi RAM Chandra Mission, and, of course, Soka Gakka•. Soka Gakka claims to teach (in spite of the schism of 1990 with Nichiren Sh™shž) the doctrines of Nichiren, a Buddhist monk of the 13th century who professed a nationalist and intolerant version of Buddhism. The access to peace and happiness is guaranteed to the faithful one who respects a certain number of practices, among which are the gonkyo recitation of certain chapters of Sžtra of the Lotus, the damoku recitation of the crowned formula of worship, the devotion with the mandala, roller where was registered this invocation. Soka Gakka• poses as a universal religion, which will unify Buddhism and society. The "Occult" Movements By occultism one indicates the belief in the existence and the effectiveness of practices (the Robert dictionary evokes in particular alchemy, astrology, cartomancy, chiromancy, divination, magic, necromancy, dowsing, telepathy) which are recognized neither by religions, nor by science, and require a particular initiation. Whereas esotericism postulates the existence of a paramount tradition of Man which would not have been revealed to him and which can be known only by teaching, occultism is the search for initiatory magic capacities. There are nevertheless innumerable links between the two trends which authorize some discussion of the esotero-occultism trend. For those, Man is formed of three principles (the physical one, the astral one, and the divine one) whose balance was broken, and that it is advisable to restore by initiation, which makes it possible to restore a link between the visible one and the invisible one, what one perceives and what escapes the senses. Relevant to this trend of most varied practices are: the methodical ontology movement Culture and Tradition, Association New Acropolis France (ANAF), the Rosicrucian brotherhood [la Rose-Croix d'Or, literally the Rose-Cross of Gold], and the Order of Scientific Scribes and of Initiatory Mysteries. Also relevant is the Solar Temple Command, founded in 1984 by Luc Jouret and whose activities tragically ended on October 5, 1994 (massacres of Morin Heights and Freiburg, in Canada and in Switzerland). The "Psychoanalytical" Movements Difficult to define, the "psychoanalytical" movement develops various parapsychologic techniques applied to cure various unconscious traumas. The Faculty of Parapsychology, the Family of Nazareth (founded on the teaching of existential psychology, confusing the roles of psychotherapist and spiritual Master) are representatives of this movement, of which the Church of Scientology is, however, the dominant element. A publication of the association, published at the time of the fortieth anniversary of the movement, presents the doctrines of Scientology thusly:
The UFO [Outerspace, Extraterrestrial] Movements UFO-ology is a belief in a plurality of inhabited worlds and in the reality of visitors from space; in other words, it postulates the existence of extraterrestrials. The best known association of this trend is without question the Ra‘lien movement. The Ra‘lien movement was founded in 1975 by Claude Vorilhon. He would have been contacted in 1973 by the president of the council of Eternal ones so that he spreads, as a prophet, the new atheistic religion. This religion is based on the belief of the existence of Elohim, inhabitants of a planet located nine billion kilometers away and scientific creators of all forms of life on earth. Those would have revealed to him the true significance of the events reported in the Bible (the whale of Jonah was an atomic submarine, the tower of Babel a space rocket) and inspired its message, based on the questioning of the democratic system to the profit of the "geniocraty," the hierarchy of human races and the promotion of eugenic values . "Sensual meditation," which makes it possible to reach a cosmic orgasm, constitutes one of the practices preached by Ra‘liens, always in search of a place - and resources - favourable for the construction of an embassy where Elohim will come to make official contact with man. Syncretic movements Gathered under the term "syncretic" is a heterogeneous whole of movements presenting a synthesis between various religions, including primitives, even between the Eastern and Western traditions. This trend includes extremely varied movements, such as the domain of Ephse, Seimeikyo Europe, and the Association of Meditation in France. The two associations which gather the greatest number of followers are undoubtedly the Knights of the Gold Lotus and the Universal White Fraternity. Founded by Omraam Mikha‘l Avanhov in 1947, the latter is presented in the form of an initiatory school proposing a syncretic esotericism, based on the worship of the Sun, the laws of karma, and "spiritual galvanoplasty." The Association of the Knights of the Gold Lotus was founded by Gilbert Bourdin in 1967. Its principal doctrine is aumism, which professes that the first word of God at the beginning of the creation of the universe was "Aum." As a result, the Knights devote themselves to a practice consisting in transmitting the sound "om" a million times or to recite the mantra "Om Ah Hum" supposed to neutralize the vibrations of occult forces. The purpose of this new universal and syncretic mystique able to link East and West is to save the earth and the cosmos from self-destruction so that the Golden age and its new society will be installed. Gilbert Bourdin, alias the Christ-king of the New Alliance, alias Hamsah Manarah, alias Melchizedek, in 1990 proclaimed himself "multi-planetary Messiah," after a long succession of engagements against a multitude of enemies. The holy city of Mandarom is installed in Castellane. For a still finer analysis, General Information, if necessary, supplemented the "dominant type" with an "associated type," retained along with the criteria already explained. The concept of "dominant" and "associated" types This analysis led, for example, to distinguishing within the New Age "movement," the sects which can only be included as part of this movement only some this from those whose doctrines borrow some elements from the "curing," "syncretic," and "Eastern" trends. In the same way, one can, within the apocalyptic movements, distinguish the "evangelic" movements from the more "Eastern" movements. While the doctrines of Jehovah's Witnesses are too well known for it to be necessary to point out them out here, the Universal Church of the Good is another sect of the "apocalyptiic/evangelic" type. Founded by the American Herbert W. Armstrong (1892-1896), it developed in Europe in 1950's. Its doctrines are based on "Anglo- Israelism," according to which the true Israelites, descendants of the ten tribes of Israel, are the Anglo- Saxons and Europeans of the West. The restoration of the Anglo-Israeli Church forces to recognize in the Queen of England the legitimate heiress of King David. The Queen will nevertheless have to yield her throne to Christ at the time of his earthly return. The International Spiritual University of Brahma Kumaris is more representative of the Eastern trend within apocalyptic sects. Founded by Brahma Baba Lekk Raj, the University announces the imminence of nuclear holocaust and the supervening of the future world. While waiting for this event, man's inner peace results from a certain number of practices, the highest of which is Rajah-Yoga. It is specified that on the assumption - very frequent - where a sect cannot be attached to a single running of thought, General Information tended to regard as the dominant type the one to which the strongest degreee of danger is attached, empirically and implicitly. Thus, the "apocalyptic," "curing," "psychoanalytical," and "Satanic" criteria are generally placed before the nine other possible types which could be detected for the sect considered; a sect whose name spontaneously evokes Eastern movement (Sri Sathya Sai for example) will be thus classified as concerning the "curing" trend insofar as certain elements of its discourse are obviously miracle-workers. 2. Results of the investigation The analysis carried out on these bases by General Information and communicated to your commission makes it possible on the one hand to carry out a distribution of sects between the trends of thought, and on the other hand to release the broad outline of the evolution of the sectarian movement. Distribution of the sects between the trends of thought The distribution of the sects by dominant type revealed the dominating weight of the "New Age" trend. Among the sects retained in the General Information study (173 total), 49 are listed as "New Age," 19 as "Eastern," 18 as "Curing," 16 as "Occult," 15 as "Apocalyptic," and 13 as "Evangelical." The categories of "Pseudo-Catholic," "Psychoanalytical" and "Syncretic" each include 9 movements. Lastly, the "UFO" (5 movements), "Alternative" (4 movements), "Satanic" (4 movements) and "Neo-pagan" (3 movements) trends are definitely a minority. Of the 173 movements studied , 69 are attached to a single trend of thought. A study of the distribution of the "associated types" of the 104 other sects shows the prevalence of the "curing" criterion (quoted 46 times) and of the "New Age" criterion (20 cases). The other associated types are only evoked less than 10 times. One always notes, if one reasons in terms of a number of structures, a very great diversity within the sectarian movement: the application of the two criteria "dominant type" and "associated type" led to count 56 categories of sects... None of these categories includes more than five movements, with six notable exceptions:
A study restricted to only the sects for which the number of followers is relatively significant (greater than 500) is led however to relativize the impression of the strong prevalence of sects of the "New Age" or "Curing" type. Typology of the sects for which the number of followers is higher than 500.
It is noted that the "Eastern," "Evangelical," and "Apocalyptic" trends include 7, 6 and 5 movements respectively, whereas the "New Age" trend includes only 3 of them. In addition, if the "Curing" trend joins together only five sects, this criterion is quoted 15 times in accordance with the associated type. The work carried out by General Information provides, in addition to this picture of the sectarian phenomenon, elements making it possible to follow its evolution over an average period. Typological evolution of the sectarian phenomenon It is possible to release the following few main tendencies in the evolution of the sectarian phenomenon. Perhaps the "New Age" seems responsible for the retreat of "Alternate" and prepares the development of "Apocalyptic". "New Age," a "hold-all" spiritual and philosophical trend imported from the United States in the mid-1980's, is number one in the sectarian competition at the approach of the third millenium. Actually, new groups or networks devoted to the "Age of Aquarius" are created almost each day whereas, at the same time, the significant and already old sects (FBU, New Acropolis...) try "to refresh" their doctrines by incorporation of "New Age" topics. True nebula, made up as much by simple organizers of training courses in the search of customers as by true gurus controlling a structure, "New Age" is dangerous because it can predispose its followers to take more perilous routes of "apocalyptic" type, for example. The approach of the year 2000 could, indeed, correspond to a considerable multiplication of the "apocalyptic" groups or millenarists in part from the badly understood message (because it is basically optimistic) of the "New-Agers." Moreover, large battalions of disappointed followers from the ranks of evangelical (Jehovah's Witnesses, Adventists...) or syncretic movements could nourish this movement. The "New Age" movement in any case made the dominant exclusive "alternative" movement regress in notable proportions, which movement had been strongly anchored in the sectarian landscape since the 1970's (communities of "return to the land," with a tribal character such as Ecoovie...). The "Eastern" sects are renewed. The current "Eastern" sects are the hard core and the heirs of religious sects dominant in the 1970's and 1980's. These, such as Krishna, the Transcendantal Meditation, and Soka Gakka•, were generally only maintained, whereas new co-religionists of importance appeared (HUE, Japanese sects...). Eastern spirituality has always fascinated, even if today it is in competition with "New Age" groups and if it incorporates more and more particularly dangerous "curing" precepts. The dominant "curing" component invades the majority of sectarian trends, following the "New Age" example. With the "New Age" component, the pseudo-therapies of divine or "natural" origin now work the sectarian landscape to a large extent . Confined until recent years to the Eastern religious sphere (Mahikari, HUE...) or Christian (IVI, evangelical groups...), today the dominant "curing" component is also grafted onto the majority of other large sectarian trends (occultist, syncretic, psychoanalytical).... when it is not sufficient of itself as a single object for a sect (International Federation for the Development of Instinctive Feeding). Imposing itself to diverse degrees, from a simple prayer to complete "therapeutic" processes, this dominant component also presents dangers varying according to whether or not it claims to bring a solution to the most serious diseases, and whether it imposes the abandonment of official medicine. The vast "occult" seems little threatened by its stable "neo-pagan" and "Satanic" neighbors. . Besides the many esoteric movements esoteric not taken into account (Rosicrucians AMORC, Martinists...), multiple structures of a neo-temple, initiatory etc. kind perpetuate an "occultist" trend which is today often crossbred with contributions from "New Age" or "curing" trends. The margin of these brotherhoods, which are often interested principally in the financial assistance of their members, from time immemorial revolved around the neo- pagan ("Druids"..) or Satanic groups (WICCA...) whose folk aspect should not make one forget the elitist, aggressive, and frequently racist ideology of these groups. All of these "magic" trends appear to have moved little on the sectarian chess-board. But the extreme secrecy of some of these groups does not make it possible to detect them systematically, and the Satanic groups inspire by fears which should not be taken lightly, because, following the example of their "co-religionists" in the United States and Scandinavian countries, the French LucifŽriens are likely to forsake their current folk activities for criminal actions: profanation of cemeteries, drug traffic, crimes of blood... The "evangelical," "pseudo-Catholic," and "syncretic" trends resist more or less well. As with the case of the Eastern trend, which has exotic assets to keep its rank on the sectarian scene, these dominant religious movements test more and more the need to develop, on a purely additional and remunerative basis, a teaching (and services) centered on divine cure. The "little churches." led by false bishops, are also maintained by means of a caricatural use of Roman or Eastern catholic ritual. On their side, the dominant evangelical movements, often animated by authentic pastors having rocked [I'm not sure if "rocking" is good or bad in French. My guess is that it means "failed," as when a boat hits the rocks.] in the role of guru, always benefit from the freedoms offered by the official Protestant structures to thrive with their edge. The syncretic groups, as for them, resist with difficulty the "New Age" vagueness. . A passion for "modern" sects claiming to have psychoanalytical basis is undeniable. Without question, in the sectarian dynamics of recent years, the "psychoanalytical" trend occupies third place on a podium already occupied by the "New Age" and "curing" movements. The difficulty in precisely describing encircling this trend explains why the quantitative information relating to it only extremely imperfectly translates its influence. With spearheads like Scientology, this trend today seems to be one of the privileged substitutes for traditional religious doctrines. One has only to observe the proliferation of dispensaries proposing training courses and seminars of "personal development"... financed sometimes within the framework of vocational training. There are certainly more "customers" than faithful "followers," but the cases of sectarian drift multiply. The damage caused to the victims is particularly serious (ruin, insanity, suicide...) because, in this type of sect, the techniques of mental manipulation are extremely sophisticated. The "UFO" trend remains restrained but thrives. Taken along by the Ra‘lien Movement and Siderella, the "soucoupists[?]" make little school [literal translation. idiomatic expression?]. Their manpower progresses less than the charges for services suggested by the persons in charge. Here still, the picturesque discourse often hides more disquieting concepts such as the "geniocraty" (or "government of the elites") at Ra‘liens. The dangers which the sects present, otherwise called sectarian "drifts," deserve our utmost attention. Indeed, it is these dangers which justify the detailed attention that must carry them to the pubic capacities and, we point out, the creation of our board of inquiry. It is thus advisable to analyze them in detail. But before we proceed, it is necessary to clear up a possible misunderstanding: not all spiritual movements other than the traditional religions, movements which are commonly called sects, are dangerous, such as, for example, Baptists, Quakers, and Mormons. Their role can, sometimes, even be regarded as very positive: "You meet the best and the worst in sects (...). Sometimes, by means of the sects, some people find a sense of belonging to a warm friendly group, others find again a direction for their lives, others still are structured. Among my patients, some entered sects. I would not want for them to come out of there for anything in the world, because the sect is used by them temporarily as a tutor." Thus the commission carefully guarded against making an amalgam between all the existing spiritual groups. It considered that it was to be confined to examine the harmful effects caused by only the dangerous sects. And this, for better trying to release the means of combatting them. These negative effects were denounced many times, both by the press or by the public authorities themselves. The report of Alain Vivien of 1983, the opinion of the advisory national Commission of Human Rights of December 10, 1993 and the answers of the Government to parliamentary questions testify some, such as, on the international scene, the reports of Mr. Richard Cottrell, the European Parliament, in 1984, or of Sir John Hunt of the Council of Europe, in 1991. Moreover, the Commission noted, during its work, that nobody contradicted the existence of it. To analyze the danger that run in a certain number of sects, the Commission itself is based mainly on two sources of information, which guarantee greater objectivity, namely judicial court orders and data collected by General Information. It also used, to a lesser extent and with required prudence, direct testimony of former followers. The followed step reveals that if the court orders testify to many illegalities made by the sects or some their members, they only give a very incomplete account of their multiple dangers. 1. Many and varied illegalities From all of the court decisions to which the Commission had access, in particular those provided by the Management of Criminal Affairs and the graces of the Ministry for Justice, it arises that many sects are, during the ten last years, guilty of illegalities. These concern six principal fields: ( It acts, initially, of offences relating to physical attacks on the human person: ill treatments, aggravated assault, sequestration, not assisting someone in danger, and illegal practice of medicine. Thus, the County Court of Versailles established, in a decision of February the 8, and 9, 1995 (No 234) that Mr. and Mrs. Mihaes, the leaders of the sect "the Citadel." made themselves guilty, inter alia, of violence on a fifteen year old minor, removal and sequestration. The report of the facts by the court is eloquent: [This quotation includes legal
language which I'm not sure how to translate. I want to be especially
careful not to tamper with legal language, so I have used literal
translations, even though it may not be a "smooth" translation in
English. - translator] "That Mr. Solomon and his wife had managed to take again with difficulties their daughter Dana on August 25, 1991, who was then at the chateau of Courcillon (72), in custody of the Mihaes couple; "That Dana Solomon was to explain that in this community the children were usually separated from their parents and that they underwent various ill treatments which were inflicted upon them, in particular by Mrs. Mihaes, Mrs. Esther Antoine and Mr. Axel Schmidt; "That she had herself on several occasions been struck, sequestered, forced to fast, and had usually been deprived of sufficient food; "Await that it be established that, under cover of application of Biblical precepts, the child had been constrained with fasting, with public confession, had been subject to some punishment which, in addition to the blow, can itself exert that Dana Soloman had been in insulation [insulated in the sense of being separated from the outside] as well as having been a victim, retained against her will in the house of the property guard of VŽsinet, without heating during the winter months and given only one extremely frugal meal, but which can also itself exert that Claire Solomon was a victim in the form of a displacement of residence, "in punishment," in the residence of the Bahjejian couple and separated from her brothers and sister. "Awaited that with regard to more precisely the defendants, it is established that Mrs. Delia Mihaes, who always disputed the charges carried against her, made the facts which are reproached to her in the case, by delivering, very often, with acts of violence with regard to the StŽphane children, Jonathan, CŽline and Claire Antoine, Dana Solomon as well as with regard to her twin sons Octavius and Flavius; "That it seriously compromised the health and the education of these children in their being made to undergo the deprivations and the [brimades?] previously exposed; "That it is in addition established that she was made an accomplice to the sequestration exerted on the person of Dana Solomon (.. The County Court of Dijon, in addition, was brought, in a judgement of January 9, 1987 (No 118-87), to condemn the director-assistant of the Narconon center of Grangey-on-Ource for nonassistance to someone in danger. This center, created by the Church of Scientology, proposes detoxification by applying the methods of Ron Hubbard, namely the procedure of "purification," based mainly on several hours of sauna per day, "auditions," and a significant absorption of vitamins. In this case, the victim had been in long-term treatment for epilepsy and had addressed this organization because she wished "to be released from drugs." The center A, without preliminary medical examination, placed her in a "weaning" room. However, the medical experts showed that her death was due to "an epileptic seizure due to the absence of sufficient treatment at its beginning and of emergency treatment during the seizure." The judgement does not leave any doubt about the responsibility of the center: "That if Jocelyne Dorfmann had made the decision to reduce her consumption of medication, then to stop it with the risk of compromising her health, the defendants had not at any time prevented it of the need for a medical examination of admission, which would have probably made it possible to contra-indicate the cure of weaning; that it is inconceivable that the victim could be accepted without this examination and serious treatment in spite of her declarations as to her health and her epilepsy, whereas the defendants admitted knowing that in the event of serious illness, medical treatment was not to suffer from interruption; "That if at the time the first crisis occurred, the defendants could mistake its exact nature, the repetition of the crises and their increasing intensity were to evoke to them an origin distinct from a state of lack which, according to medical experts, cannot be confused with an epileptic state; "That they did not consider it useful to directly ask the victim, while she was still conscious, if these demonstrations could correspond to the epileptic fits to which she had referred or to call upon the nearest doctor (...)" Several cases of the illegal exercise of medicine, moreover, were observed these last years. One will evoke, for example, the rather significant case of Mr. Main, head of a religious community called "The Good Pasteur[? Pastor?]," who, claiming the title of bishop (he had been ordained as such by ecclesiastics who no longer obeyed Rome after the Council of Vatican II), claimed to cure or relieve his "faithful" by words, prayers, laying on of hands, the use of a pendulum, and practices of exorcism and dŽsenvožtement[?]. The conclusions of the County Court of PŽrigueux, in its decision of June 22, 1994 (No 894), are made without comments: Mr. Main was recognized guilty of illegal exercise of medicine by the County Court of PŽrigueux in a judgement of June 22, 1994. Thus, for example, the Court of Appeal of Rennes had it, in a decision of 13 February 1993 (Epoux Durand), judged that Mr. and Mrs. Durand, member of the Sahaja Yoga sect, have "seriously compromised by lack of necessary direction the health and security of the child Yoann" and tomb have, so under the blow of article 357.1 of the penal code, by sending the six and a half year old child to India in a school of Dharamsala directed by the followers of this sect. The reasons for the decision deserve to be quoted: " (...) considering (...) that on the faith of a simple prospectus given at a simple general orientation (...), Domenica and Josette Durand (...) in April 1990 made the decision to send (...) their child Yoann, without accompanying the child on the voyage, to a school of which the content of teaching, in English and Hindi, was not really known to them (...), that they did not offer to the child some guarantee on the exit of this teaching, on conditions and life awaiting the child, of which the file reveals that they were notably in a very hard climatic plan (...) without assuring themselves before the child's departure of whether a medical infrastructure and sanitary arrangements await the child, without even informing themselves as to the nearest doctors specializing in the risks that the child would incur in an area of the world in which serious epidemic diseases essentially unknown in Europe strike, without measuring the risk for a child six and and a half years old of a feeling of abandonment, even of rejection whereas the child knew the birth close relation of another child in the hearth and that this other child maintained particularly privileged relations with its maternal grandparent, the spouse HŽline; " (...) that the report drawn up by three experts who examined the child on July 5, 1991 noted significant psychic degradations related to brutal and prolonged separation described exactly by the court, while later examinations revealed a clear improvement in a child returned within his family framework and continuing a normal schooling;" Sometihe parents/followers directly, but refuses to them the exercise of parental authority or custody. It is in this direction, for example, that ruled the County Court of Avignon on May 25, 1992 (decision No 673/92): "It certainly does not rest with the Court to come to a conclusion about the benefits or misdeeds of the sect (...) of Jehovah's Witnesses but only, according to "the interest of the minors," (...) to indicate the relative with whom the children have their usual residence and to rule on the exercise of the parental authority. "After having enumerated part of the impressive list of the interdicts that the followers of this sect - to which Madam does not dispute to have adhered - must respect, Mrs Audoyer notices rightly in the report of social investigation which it deposited that they are likely to block a future for children such as Debora and Flora. "The education of the children should not indeed consist of one endoctrination based on a particularly cataclysmic vision of the world in which only followers of the sect would be preserved, but on the contrary in an awakening of the spirit, an opening to all the fields of knowledge and all the disciplines, as well as with the relations with others without discrimination of race, religion or ideas. "In the current state, in order to preserve the present as well as the future of these two children (...), it appears necessary to fix their usual residence with their father who will exert the parental authority (...) " The sects are, moreover, made guilty many times of slandering, libellous denunciation and violation of the deprived life in the course of recent years. The Particular Case of the Church of Scientology. Thus, the County Court of Paris has it, in a judgement of 13 October 1993 (Mr. Abgrall C / Mrs. Lefvre), condemned for slandering Mrs. Lefvre, director of the publication "Ethics and Freedom," one of the reviews of the Church of Scientology. Indeed, a article in this publication, titled "A Militia of Thought" and dedicated to the Association of Family and Individual Defense [AFDI], made statements concerning the removal and sequestration by members of this association, and in particular of an internment in a psychiatric hospital in 1991 of a Scientologue from Marseilles, carried out with the complicity of J.M. Abgrall, psychiatrist, whereas these allegations have by no means been proved. In the same way, the Court of Appeal of Douai has, in its decision of 18 March 1982 (No 302), recognized the Hubbard Center of Dianetics guilty of "public slandering, comparable with an insult," to have written the following in reference to the ADFI: "... It appears vital to me for the freedom of religion and the freedom of thought to denounce and stop the intrigues of this fascist group which draws on all that moves which is new or different..." One can also evoke the case of a libellous denunciation confirmed by the Supreme Court of Appeal in a [arrt stop?] of April 28, 1987 (A.J.), similar to that of a violation of deprived life by the association "Ethics and Freedom," in a decision returned last 15 March by the County Court of Paris (No 9) Several jurisdictional decisions also testify to a rather frequent practice of tax evasion by certain associations. The Supreme Court of Appeal, for example, confirmed in a stop of June 25, 1990 (Blanchard Henri and others) the stop of the Court of Appeal of Paris of January 26, 1988, condemning the President of the Association for the Unification of World Christianity (AUCM), which is the French branch of the Moon sect, for tax evasion. This stop shows in particular that this organization has, under cover of an association with religious goals, carried out significant undeclared benefits: " (...) Wait that Henri Blanchard has been returned in front of the correctional court for having fraudulently withdrawn the AUCM, of which he is the president, to the establishment and to the payment of corporation tax, and to have knowingly omitted to pass or to make pass in the in the documents holding place of day book [I assume this the French term for an accounting journal, probably what is called a "general ledger" in English] and book of inventory whole or part of writing; "Wait until (...) the judge stated that the AUCM has only the appearance of an association and that it exerts, by the setting on sale of a newspaper, an activity from which it gets some benefit of which a significant part, not carried in receipt, has been used, via figureheads, for some movable acquisitions or immovable acquisitions ["immovable" is similar to the English "real estate"] occult [this word does not make sense to me in this context, but it is there], of which, for some, the assignment cannot be specified; (...)." Also convicted of tax evasion, among others, were the International Association for Krishna Consciousness (AICK) (cf in particular the stop of October 19, 1989 of the Court of Appeal of Bourges, No 461/89) and the Church of Scientology (cf in particular the stop of February 3, 1995 of the Court of Appeal of Paris, No 7). There too, these organizations had carried out substantial commercial profits by means of associations which were supposedly not involved with this goal. In addition, the stop of February 3, 1995 of the Court of Appeals of Paris established that the Church of Scientology presented a liability of about 41 million francs [6,842,900 US Dollars] and put in legal rectification. Moreover, the Commercial Court of Paris pronounced, November 30, 1995, the setting in bankruptcy of the Church of Scientology of Paris, for the unpaid amounts with the tax authorities and the URSSAF of an amount of 48 million francs [8,011,200 US Dollars]. One also notes several cases of swindle, fraud, and breach of trust. The County Court of Draguignan has thus, in a decision of 20 March 1995 (No 882/95), condemned two people (Mr. Galiano and Mrs. Pison) for swindle, being respectively presented in the form of reincarnation of Christ and the Virgin. And this, for the following reasons: "As a result thus of all of these element put to examination, by some setting in scene in some public meeting places, have persuaded credulous people of the existence of a supernatural capacity which will allow them to hope for a good live or a cure, very in use the alibi of science, namely the profession of psychoanalist for one and of dentist for the other. While trying to be made give or by perceiving sums, they made the offence of swindle." The Supreme Court of Appeal of Cassation[?] has, in addition, judged, in a stop of 15 November 1995 (A. Pouteau), that the Wide limited liability company, of which Alain Pouteau was the manager and of which investigation showed that it was "under the obedience of the Church of Scientology," "exploited a center of formation with trade of sale and spread some advertisements in the press and circulars about the maires[majors?mayors] in which the center engaged itself to procure candidates, at the end of their formation, a place with a serious company," was made guilty of fraud, because it "was not able to guarantee employment for its trainees." The famous affair of the sect of FrŽchou illustrates, in addition, perfectly the case of breach of trust made by the leaders of sects to the detriment of their followers. In fact, they were prevailed unduly of the title of priest, which had enabled them to extort a significant amount of gifts from their faithful followers (cf in particular the stop of May 10, 1991 of the Court of Appeal of Agen, No 215/91). Lastly, jurisprudence gives a report of multiple violations of the labor law or that of social security. "The denunciation of merciless exploitation of follower by the leaders, contempt for social laws, duration of work, lack of remuneration, nor of Social Security (...) find their confirmation in the fact that Ecoovie does not pour with the debate without employment contract, without payroll salary, without declaration of Social Security or with tax department concerning the follower that it employs, itself limiting to plead that those be voluntary." It is thus, for example, which the County Court of Paris described, in its stop of July 10, 1985 (No 263), the way in which the Ecoovie sect conceived the application of the rules of the labor and social security laws. Many judgments were thus marked on very diverse points against the sects during recent years, on the basis of undeniable material fact. However, the Commission was brought to note that this approach only incompletely accounts for the dangers of certain sectarian movements. 2. A harmfulness which largely exceeds the field of illegalities noted by the courts Obviously not all of the reprehensible acts performed by sects are the subject of a judgment. Far from it. Such a judgment requires, indeed, the meeting of several conditions which it is often difficult to obtain:
The information provided to the Commission by General Information as well as testimony which it received led it to think that the dangers which certain sectarian movements present to individuals and society are, actually, at the same time more numerous, more widespread and more grave than only a reading of court orders would suggest. The enumeration below gathers, in ten categories, the dangers which the sectarian phenomenon presents for individuals on the one hand, for society on the other hand, such as the Commission could apprehend them through the whole of its work. a) The dangers to the individual Mental destabilization is the first of them. One understands this expression to mean, to destabilize someone in order to subject him to one's influence by persuasion, manipulation, and all other material means. According to General Information, the 172 coercive sectarian movements that they listed would resort to practices being able to be thus qualified. The mental destabilization can take very diverse forms, and, in particular, very insidious forms, as the personality test and "auditions" proposed by the Church of Scientology illustrate. Here is how a former follower of this association described to the Commission the experience of the test: " This test, which is comprised of approximately 200 questions about traits with money, the family, with work, etc, has, in my view, a true psychological base but then gives way to an analysis - on the computer, today, which gives it a serious aspect which is very imposing - which tends to emphasize defects more than anything - which is altogether simple --. " Defects are thus amplified while good qualities are rather underestimated, which makes it possible to decide that there are things to do and that the Dianetic Center has proposed those things to you. " (...) And from there, people are tempted to go further. " . Consequently, the process of mental destabilization is already started. It reaches an additional stage when the interested party indeed goes "further" and agrees to devote himself to Dianetic "auditions": " I did five or six hours of audition. In these auditions known as Dianetics (...), one makes you close your eyes - a little like a psychiatrist - and one revives to you the difficult moments. Personally, I spoke about my first love as a teenager - I did the same thing as one would do in front of a psychiatrist --, which involved an emotional increase at home which disturbed me a little. " There, the evil was indeed done because I wanted to go further (...). " . The interested party "indeed went further," which led him to a state of alienation and extreme dependence. This practice, one sees, is very insidious, because it is void of a scientific base and is exerted with the agreement of the victim, in a progressive way and within a perfectly legal framework. Certain processes are, on the other hand, definitely more brutal. It acts, for example, to weaken the individual by imposing a very rigorous discipline on him, or to reduce his critical spirit by demanding repetitive acts or prayers in order to obtain his complete obedience. The testimony collected regarding a typical day for a follower of the International Association of Krishna Consciousness, with, in particular, its eleven working hours and its six hours of devotion per day, attest to this. These processes can sometimes even lead the followers to an advanced state of pathological weakness. One also notes, although more rarely, the recourse to sophrologic[?inducing mental sleepiness?] techniques, going as far as deep hypnosis or prescribing drugs, permitting a sect to attain, to use again the expression of Colonel Morin, a true "psychic rape" of the follower. These forms of mental destabilization can have serious consequences on the psyche of those to which they were applied, such as depression, [envožtement?], schizophrenic behavior or a deep state of dependence. Certain sects, moreover, have exorbitant financial requirements.with regard to their followers. According to General Information, this would today be the case for 76 sects. It is in particular thus for the Church of Scientology. This one would, indeed, charge more than 70,000 francs [$11,725 US Dollars] for certain courses. Several testimonies collected by the Commission show that this would have led many followers to a serious debt position. One can also quote Association for the Unification of World Christianity which would have required between 7,000 [$1,173 US Dollars] and 14,000 francs [$2345 US Dollars] of each of the 72,000 people married collectively by the Reverend Moon of Seoul last August. Financial exploitation would also be the case with, in particular, the Alliance of the Rose Cross, the New Acropolis, the Knights of the Gold Lotus, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, the Grand Logis, and the French Ra‘lien Movement. The rupture of the follower with his environment of origin is frequently noted. This is obvious with sects which practice the community life, but those are not most numerous. It is more insidious but quite as real within the framework of sects whose followers continue, seemingly, to carry out a normal family and social life, but whose engagement gradually leads them to cease any true relation between the external world and the movement of which they are members. And it is precisely that goal that the leaders of sects want to attain, in giving the follower incentive to devote his time as much as possible to the sect, with its rites and its beliefs: to put an end to any contact with the people who would be likely to insinuate doubt into the spirit of the follower, to awake his critical direction and, finally, to divert him from the sect. According to information collected by your commission, 57 spiritual movements would present this danger, in particular the Universal Alliance, the Church of Scientology, Jehovah's Witnesses, IVI, the Family, and the Humanistic Movement. One will limit oneself, to illustrate this, to point out testimony communicated by an ex-follower of Jehovah's Witnesses: " (...) If I decide today to write, it is to break the twenty years of silence maintained with lasting mental anguish because of a sect, which is (...) the sect of Jehovah's Witnesses. I lived the hell. "People live in an autarchy, do not take part of anything in the economic, cultural or other life of a country. They are a danger because quite simply they destroy you; you draw aside from your family, your friends, from society even. You are isolated from all, there is one common indoctrination for all the disciples and [gare? parks? congregations?] if you try to be yourself. It is prohibited." The practices of certain sects undermine the physical integrity of the followers. According to information obtained by your commission, 82 sects would pose such a danger to their members. It can be a question of ill treatment, aggravated assault, sequestrations, non-assistance to someone in danger, or illegal practice of medicine, but also of sexual aggression. Several complaints were thus filed against the guru of Mandarom, Gilbert Bourdin, for rapes, attempts at rapes and sexual aggression. The interested party besides was put in examination and was placed under legal control last June. It is well-known that within the sect the Children of God (today dissolved) prostitution and incest were usually practised. Here is, for example, how the daughter of David Berg, the founder of the movement, describes her father's attitude toward her in "Shukan Bushun" of July 30, 1992: " My father pressed me for the first time to have a sexual relation with him, when I was eight years old, in Texas. I resisted, nevertheless, I was violated. This was so abrupt that I was completely upset by it and unable to speak about it with anyone. " (...) Unfortunately, when my father was seized by sexual desire, it could not be controlled, even if the object of his desire was his own daughter. " (...) One day, my father gathered the members of the royal family together and announced: "Incest is a good thing. Thus Adam and Eve had many descendants " (...)" Another follower shares information regarding the practice of "flirty fishing" consisting of prostituting children "with the given intention of gaining more followers and to acquire support." Auto-dissolved in 1978, this sect would have been recreated under another name ("the Family"), under which indeed today exists a sectarian association. Each one finally keeps in memory the large scale dramas among which were the collective suicides of Guyana in 1979, which made 923 victims, or of Waco in 1993, which killed 88 people. Lastly, embrigadement [bringing into the troops, enlisting] of the children would be the fact of 28 movements. In addition to "the Citadel" of which the actions have already been evoked, come sects practice embrigadement of children in a more or less insidious form, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Association for the Unification of World Christianity, the Community of ThŽba•de, the Church of Scientology of Paris, the Kristique Church of New Jerusalem, the French Federation for Krishna Consciousness, the Family, and the Grand Logis. Beyond these negative effects on selected individuals, the sects can also appear particularly harmful to the community as a whole. To begin with, certain sects have a clearly antisocial message. This is not astonishing besides: the movements which recommend practices contrary to the law and common morals must justify them well; they thus explain often to their followers why these laws and these morals are bad and that only the principles of the sect deserve to be followed. 46 organizations have an antisocial message according to General Information, among which are the Knights of the Gold Lotus, the French Federation for Krishna Consciousness, the Family, the Suicide of Banks [as in river banks], the Ra‘lien Movement, and the Order of Immaculate Heart of Marie and of Saint Louis of Montfort. Several organizations provoke, in addition, disturbances to the law and order. According to indications provided to your commission by the Ministry for the Interior, this would be the case of 26 sects, among whom are Jehovah's Witnesses, the New Acropolis, the Church of Scientology, the French Federation for Krishna Consciousness, the Suicide of Banks, and the French Ra‘lien Movement. Testimony collected concerning the New Acropolis, comparing the sect to a neofascist movement, is rather eloquent. Here is an extract: " (..) But, unfortunately, with the New Acropolis, as the years pass, the ideas [trŽpassent?]. that is to say that re- enter a school of philosophy with an honest facade, you find yourself very quickly in a sect with political aims, with extreme right wing character and of neofascist type, and if you don't react quickly, you risk finding yourself in a paramilitary style uniform (blue-marine for women, black for men, and chestnut for officers), the arm-band on your arm, the standard in hand, singing war songs in military rhythm, then lowering your head, knee to the ground, saluting the arms surveying a raptor on a sun!!! " (...) It is moreover one of the declared enemies of democracy, good only for cowards and the weak, so say the leaders of the New Acropolis. Moreover, they are hostile to any form of opposition, and are likely to become very dangerous. For them, the end justifies the means (...) " . Certain sects are usually in legal contentions, as the affairs mentioned above testify. However, it is advisable to specify that the difficult reports with justice that certain sects maintain can take two faces: the proceedings of which they are the object because of the punishable or prejudicial character of their acts; the actions which they bring themselves with regard to the people who have, according to them, tarnished their image. L'Eglise de Scientologie est, par exemple, très coutumière du fait. En général, les tribunaux déboutent les mouvements. In this respect, the Commission had the occasion to note that the majority of the people heard who publicly expressed themselves regarding the negative effects of certain sectarian movements were sued by those [sects] for slandering. The Church of Scientology is, for example, very much accustomed to doing this. In general, the courts dismiss the actions. One also notes many cases of economic disruption, such practices being the fact of 51 organizations, according to General Information's analyses. This is the case for the Association for Research on the Holistic Development of Man, Association New Acropolis France, Athanor, the Resource Center for Information and Contact for the Prevention of Cancer, the Key to the Universe, the Church of Scientology, the French Ra‘lien Movement, and Soka Gakkai International France. One saw, in fact, how certain sects could have recourse to clandestine work or various forms of fraud or swindling. In addition, several people evoked before the Commission the infiltrations or attempts at infiltration which the sects would have attempted with the center of public authorities. In the same direction, certain journalists have endeavoured for a few years to show the influence which certain sects could exert - with the first head of the Church of Scientology - in the apparatus of State. As for your commission, it does not consider itself authorized to make statements in this report of allegations brought to its attention during its work but of which it did not have any means of checking the cogency. Some considered this naive and to judge it moved vis-a-vis with the subtle enterprises of groups which can very skilfully implement the means enabling them to arrive at their ends. It of it is not nothing. Simply, the Commission judges its duty to be careful and to refuse to bring back allegations whose consequences could be of a certain gravity, without being able to bring the least proof of it. Even so, it did not fail to be alarmed by certain elements which were communicated to it. So it draws the attention of the administrative persons in charge to the need, without falling into paranoia, to be proof of greatest vigilance, in order to avoid, at least, as subsidies or contracts are allotted to sects and organizations within their sphere, by ignorance of their exact nature. Multiple, various, complex, the sectarian phenomenon presents undeniable dangers to the individual as well as to society. And this, the more so as they can take the most insidious forms. No social or professional category escapes from it and if the young people appear more touched, one finds people of all ages in the sects. An essential question arises then today: have these dangers tended to increase for ten years? One can hardly give a precise answer to this question, because it is, in the current state of affairs, impossible to measure with exactitude their evolution in the ensemble of movements. However, the opinions collected by the Commission on behalf of several observers leads us to believe that if the practices of sects are not more dangerous today than yesterday, many more people are victims. Under these conditions, it appears particularly significant to know, on the one hand, if the existing legal devices are sufficient to face there and, on the other hand, what the public authorities can do to better fight against these drifts. [NOTE: The language in these sections is legalistic and technical, difficult for me to translate. I have left much of it as literal as possible, even though the reading isn't as smooth. I'd rather the English syntax be a little awkward rather than making the French document say something that was not intended. -- translator]
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