Re: Drug Rehab Cult Comunita Cenacolo
Posted by:
gabrielrheaume
()
Date: February 24, 2020 04:51AM
Please forgive the typos and errors.. I'm typing fromm my phone.
I am a former member of the community, a person in long term recovery, a state certified recovery coach, and community health worker. The numbers the community quoted as "93% of members never use drugs again" is absolutely incorrect and not based on fact or evidence. I would be very interested to see the data. The fact that a "Christian" organization would print such a number without any evidence backing it up is very manipulative and dangerous. Comunita Cenacolo works for some people, there is no way it works for that many people. I personally believe it is a cult and if not, at least a cult-like community, utilizing mind-control techniques and fear tactics to control and re-program the members.
I was in Cenacolo for only nine months. I continue to remain friends with some of the members as the relationships I gained there were very singular and intimate. I was in a house with about 20 people. Of those 20 people, I remained in contact with about 15. I can't think of one who hasn't relapsed with drugs and alcohol and four from that group have overdosed and died. It is harmful for a group to promise such high numbers of recovery and abstinence to unsuspecting people. It is dangerous to boldly lie and practically promise family and members that their child will recover and become a productive member of society. Even 12 Step programs statistically have a 5-10% recovery rate. There is no program or recovery method ever to reach such a number or it would be considered evidence-based and the method would be mass-produced, marketed, and mimicked worldwide.
I myself relapsed while in the community, despite putting all of my faith and efforts into the program. Even in the isolated property I lived on in the hills of Alabama, I managed to choke down a bottle of hand sanitizer that I found on cleaning duty. Some people leave the program and "live" the program post-exit and some people do recover. Some people exit successfully and fall hard. Some people like myself leave the community and find alternative ways to recover. I snuck away during the rare occurrence of being alone, during morning chores. Despite being theatened that if you leave your family would not take you back and they will be instructed to not take you back, to not help you out, but to only redirect you to Cenacolo or not let you into their lives, people still leave
I'm not sure what my exact intentions of my email were. I think Cenacolo claimed a 93% success rate on their website (but I can't find it right now), and I've seen other articles using that number, but, I've never seen any works cited backing it. In the past few years in America during "The Heroin Epidemic", I can count 4 people who I knew from the Community and one other who I don't believe I met. I think I said two last night when I sent this out, but yes, Luke, Gus, Matt, Paul, and Adam. And, I definitely have not completed any survey to compile statistics to come up with the 93% number, so I'd like to know where it comes from. I do become angry, not at you or the article, but at the people promoting this false claim at such a tumultuous time, when drugs and alcohol are killing people in record numbers.
So, yes, my intentions of the email were to give attention to that 93% number (which I also have no technical evidence to disprove) and to expose the real nature of the community. Which is if nothing else a cult-like environmental utilizing mind control techniques and fear mongering to keep young people enrolled, detaching them from their family. While at the same time profiting off of the families, who in America are middle class and higher often providing major contributions to keep the community rolling off of "divine Providence".
I have heard numerous horror stories of physical and verbal assault from the "responsibles" in the community, illegal stays with expired Visas in foreign countries, wealthy members getting special treatment, I've seen members sick and near death without getting granted access to the hospital under extreme conditions, and the list goes on. Cenacolo is supported by the Catholic Church only because no one ever sees what goes on behind closed doors. Everything in the media or interaction with the public is carefully orchestrated and visitors have limited contact with troublesome members.
Comunita Cenacolo will probably continue manipulating parents and members without anyone truly digging into the integrity of the program. I think if the outside world had a closer look within in the community, they would be shocked and it wouldn't appear to be the program as advertised.
I should explain what my post even came about. My response was prompted after being triggered by reading John Joseph's book, The Evolution of a Cro-Mag, in which he spent some time with the Hare Krishas. The particular group he stayed with was later deemed a cult and it reminded me in many ways of my stay at Cenacolo. So I was looking for information about the community to see the public view. I do believe the public view is skewed. I didn't spend any time the houses in Europe or the UK. I stayed at two of the houses in America in St. Augustine, Florida and Hanceville, Alabama.
I, who was addicted to heroin and other hard drugs for a decade and everything else for a total of 17 years, did utilize the 12 step programs to assist in my recovery from addiction, but have stopped attending NA or AA meetings in the past few months as I believe I have reached the 'Exit' stage of change. I have embraced a multiple pathway approach in later years. I utilize health and wellness, principles and values I've discovered that are important to me such as honesty, integrity, and forgiveness (among others), yoga, meditation, selflessness, volunteer work, and family as the structure of my recovery.
I'm not sure what my exact intentions of my post were. I think Cenacolo claimed a 93% success rate on their website (but I can't find it right now), and I've seen articles using that number, but, I've never seen any works cited backing it. In the past few years in America during "The Heroin Epidemic", I can count 4 people who I knew from the Community and one other who I don't believe I met, Luke, Gus, Matt, Paul, and Adam. And, I definitely have not completed any survey to compile statistics to come up with the 93% number, so I'd like to know where it comes from. I do become angry at the people promoting this false claim at such a tumultuous time, when drugs and alcohol are killing people in record numbers. Also, it angers me to see the church and EWTN supporting this community, but really not understanding what they are promoting.
So, yes, my intentions of this post is to give attention to that 93% number (which I also have no technical evidence to disprove) and to expose the real nature of the community. Which takes all possessions from the member, cuts everyone's hair the same, takes most of your clothes, and allows you a certain amount of possessions. All possessions brought to the home become the community's possessions, detaching them from their family, not allowing any leisure time, not allowing any alone time, except during certain tasks, not being allowed to rest despite long working days, 6 days a week. Every moment of your time is planned without you knowing what your plans are at any point of the day, being told to "trust" in Albino as if his word is a divine order, creating a community of mindless robots, while at the same time profiting off of the families, who in America are middle class and higher often providing major contributions to keep the community rolling off of "divine Providence".
You can Google AA or 12-step success rate and pick and choose, but from my findings 5-10% is the accepted statistic. Another good book illustrating the flaws of the 12 Step program is "Empowering the Sober Self." My goal is not to disprove any pathway of recovery, but to illustrate that one specific route will not work for everyone. There are too many biopsychosocial factors involved including trauma and social determinants of health, and recovery capital in play to have a cookie cutter approach to recovery. It just doesn't work that way.