Hi - While I am not familiar with the group that you mentioned, there are several cults within the Catholic Church, most notably Opus Dei, Legion of Christ, Communion and Liberation and Focalare. Most of their activities do not seem to deal with drug rehab, but I know that Opus Dei has recruited people while they have been in drug rehab, like the economist Lawrence Kudlow. So, it would seem
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi all - Just to let everyone know, the Falun Gong/Dafa cult has put out bright yellow boxes all over Manhattan giving away a free newspaper called "The Epoch Times". I believe that this was the same newspaper that they were giving away when they were forcing their members to sit in 4 foot cages and stand in semi-crucified positions in street demonstrations all over Manhattan over t
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Opus Dei cult member/Senator Rick Santorum in NY Times Magazine: But a Democratic senator who would talk only on the condition his name not be used said: ''I'm shocked to see him in leadership, because of his comportment and general disdain for everybody else. There have to be moments of compromise, but with him, it's his way or no way. He really is doctrinaire and sanctimo
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Thank you Ultaware and Toni - that is very kind of you. Toni - please note that the Cease and Desist does not have to be filed with any authorities, therefore you don't have to prove anything. All you are doing is sending it to the people you feel are involved and to the police. That way there is a record of the harassment, you are bringing the police into the loop and you are also putt
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Toni - You're welcome - glad you liked it. The Opus Dei cult folks have drawn off for the moment, since I sent them another Cease and Desist Order a few weeks ago. How about you? Are the cult people still severely harassing you? Did you use a Cease and Desist against them? Cheers - Matt
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Opus Dei cult has stake in new pope No part of the Church has been so shrouded in conspiracy theory in recent years as Opus Dei, which has 85,000 members worldwide and espouses a very conservative form of Catholicism. Critics within the Church worry about its wealth and influence; Web sites accuse it of being a cult, and Brown's best-seller casts it as a dark, violent force within Chris
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Interesting article in NY Times magazine about a rebel group that kidnaps children and uses cultic brainwashing techniques to turn them into killers. One of the most notable techniques was that commanders would force newly kidnapped children to kill someone else, thus solidifying their bond to the rebel group and process them away from their previous life. Some of the other cultic aspects: comp
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi - Have you tried Unitarianism? They seem to have a more fluid set of beliefs. It seems folks who don't seem to like the structure of other religions like Unitarianism because of its fluidity. From the BBC: There is no Unitarian creed - i.e. there is no specified list of things that Unitarians must believe. Unitarians are sceptical about any one person or tradition possessi
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I did not do EST, but I lost a friend (who tried to recruit me over the course of several years) to the successor to EST, The Landmark Forum. It is essentially the same, but from what I understand they let you take bathroom breaks if you ask once or twice a day. Active in most major cities in the US. This article from Elle is particularly good: The Ross Institutue has a great list of reso
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi all - The Opus Dei cult (which resides within the Catholic Church) has control of about $2.8 billion worldwide, according the John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter: Also, a few recent articles about them:
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi all - Found a new cult called Avatar, which appears to be founded by Harry Palmer, a former Scientologist. I could not find it in the Group Information Database of The Ross Institute. Origin and birth of Avatar The originator of Avatar is an American, Harry Palmer, who enjoys being described as a "poet-engineer-beatnik" (Living Deliberately, Harry Palmer, 1994). After begin
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Scientology ad on NYC Craigslist. They do not mention that it is affiliated with Scientology, but the telephone number, 212-288-1526, when put into Google, gives: Results 1 - 10 of about 130 for 212-288-1526. (0.14 seconds) Phonebook results for 212-288-1526 Dianetics Foundation Hubbard, (212) 288-1526, 65 E 82nd St, New York, NY 10028 Dianetics Foundation Hubbard, Celebrity Ce
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Subject --------------------------------------------------------------- Scientology cult harassing MTA subway customers Discussion Thread --------------------------------------------------------------- Response (Melissa Glasgow) - 03/14/2005 11:14 AM This is in response to your recent e-mail message to MTA New York City Transit reporting scientologist followers harassing passengers in the
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi - It sounds like you are getting ready for a long fight. The Kabbalah cult members might start to hasass, stalk, intimidate and scare you throughout in order to get you to back down. The Cease and Desist Letter below was used against Opus Dei, a cult within the Catholic faith that tries to do the same thing as the Kabbalah cult does in the Jewish faith in separating children from their pa
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi all - The Falun Gong/Dafa cult was seen aggressively recruiting again around March 9 in midtown Manhattan. Seen on the west side of Fifth Ave, between 34th and 35th Street, across from the CUNY Grad Center. Area has a high number of tourists and business people. Location was just north of the Empire State Building. One person appeared to be forced to stay in a semi-crucified position fo
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

New intel appears to indicate that the Catholic cult "Legion of Christ" will be moving forward with a big worldwide recruiting push very soon. Details are as follows: - Scheduled the week of March 20 - March 27, 2005 (Holy Week of the Catholic calendar) - Will take place simultaneously in 31 countries - Approximately 50,000 cult members will be mobilized - Front organizations:
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi all - Just to let you know, the Scientologist cult again is recruiting in the Shuttle passage at 42nd St/Grand Central subway station (4, 5, 6 trains). Saw them on the evening of 3/10. Will report it to the MTA.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

A group called Fund for Public Interest Research has been soliciting donations on the streets of Manhattan for groups such as Greenpeace, Sierra Club and Save the Children. An amNewYork article has described them as cult-like in how they treat their workers: [64.233.167.104] This is part of the article: Employees: Green contractor cult-like BY CHUCK BENNETT amNewYork Staff Writer A
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi all - Found a Scientologist HQ building in Manhattan, on the West Side, 48th between 8th and 9th. It would appear that NYC is a hotbed of cult activity. Off the top of my head, several large cults are very active: Jehovah's Witnesses, Opus Dei, Legion of Christ, Scientology, Moonies, Nation of Islam, Kabbalah, Jews for Jesus, Falun Gong and Landmark/Forum. Be careful out the
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Question Reference #050118-000000 --------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Scientology cult blocking 42nd St. tunnel MTA Service: NYCT Subway Category: Complaint Date Created: 01/18/2005 12:27 AM Last Updated: 01/18/2005 12:27 AM Status: Received Date/Time of Event: 01/17/2005 0
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quoteacacias1from a hard core anti-scientologist new yorker! :wink: You're welcome - they are becoming quite harassing and intimidating. I also sent one into the MTA for their recruiting in the 42nd St Station: Cheers - Matt
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Subject: Scientology Cult Harassing Passengers Incident: 050109-000001 Date: Jan 11, 2005 10:03 AM DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE. Recently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support center. Below is a summary of your request and our response. Subject --------------------------------------------------------------- Scientology Cult Harassing Passengers Discussion
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi all - The Scientology cult was seen recruiting and harassing people recently with their "Stress Tests" in the NYC subway: - 42nd & Lex 4,5,6 station, in the tunnel leading to the Shuttle - 34th & 6th B, D, F, V station, on the ramp leading to the northern exit to the station on 35th - 42nd & Times Square station, in the area one has to walk past
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Guide on Preventing Opus Dei Infiltration How to Prevent Opus Dei From Recruiting Within And Taking Over A Catholic Young Adult Group, College/University Campus Ministry Or Any Other Catholic Organization Updated: Jan, 2003 As part of its normal modus operandi, Opus Dei attempts to infiltrate and take over other mainstream Catholic groups with the aim of turning them into recruitment fron
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Stalking Victims Can Seek Justice in Civil Court From the Newsletter of the Stalking Resource Center, Volume 4, Number 2, Fall 2004 Most victims know that protective orders and criminal prosecutions are the first line of defense against stalkers. Yet victims have an additional option for bringing stalkers to justice: they can file civil lawsuits against stalkers and third parties who co
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi all - Stalking/harassment criminal laws in all 50 US States can be found at: Federal Interstate: These can be used in conjuntion with the Cease and Desist/Anti-Harassment Order posted earlier. Matt
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

01/01/2005 Secrets and spies Michael Walsh The Da Vinci Code and claims about the new cabinet minister, Ruth Kelly, have put Opus Dei in the headlines. What sort of organisation is it today? ROBERT HANSSEN was a pillar of his parish in Washington DC. He was an FBI agent. With his wife and family he was a prominent supporter of Catholic causes – pro-life, anti-abortion. He and his wife
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi all - Please find below an extensive legal disclaimer that I have been using on an anti-Opus Dei cult site for several years. The site is: . It can be adopted for any anti-cult website. It basically extents the disclaimer that Mr. Ross has on his site. Distributed under the GPL; please feel free to copy it onto any site anywhere in the world in any language. Cheers - Matt LEGAL D
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Hi all - This might come in handy when the cults start harassing you. I have used this about 15 times against the Opus Dei cult. Though this one is specific to Opus Dei, it can be used on any cult, religious or secular. Distributed under the GPL; please feel free to copy it and post it on your website. This can also be sued if an individual is harassing you and will not leave you alone.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Minnesota archbishop bars Legionaries from his archdiocese By Jerry Filteau Catholic News Service WASHINGTON (CNS) -- In a letter made public by an Internet posting in December, Archbishop Harry J. Flynn of St. Paul-Minneapolis informed parish heads that the Legionaries of Christ are "not to be active in any way in the archdiocese." He also instructed them that the Legionari
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"