Author:
Publication: Zenit.org
Date: May 3, 2001
Scientologists, Moonies and Mormons
Under Scrutiny
The Church of Scientology, Jehovah's
Witnesses, Moonies and Mormons are among the dangerous "totalitarian sects"
infiltrating the East, says a recent conference organized by the Russian
Orthodox Church.
The Russian Orthodox Church held
the international conference to call attention to the groups making inroads
in former Soviet lands.
"Totalitarian sects (destructive
cults) are actively attempting to penetrate and invade agencies of education,
health services, governmental administration, manufacture and commerce,"
said the conference's concluding document.
"In doing so," the document said,
"they often change their names and disguise themselves, take recourse to
confessional anonymity and pseudonyms, and often operate under the cover
of false organizations they create, which do not advertise but rather conceal
their ties with the sect."
The congress, entitled "Totalitarian
Sects -- Challenge of the 21st Century," was held in Nizhny Novgorod, in
the Russian Federation's northwest, from April 23-25. It drew Orthodox,
Jewish, Catholic and Protestant conferees.
Foreign participants included American
writer Gerald Armstrong, the former personal archivist of Scientology founder
L. Ron Hubbard. Armstrong later broke with Scientology and published critical
material about the group.
The conference document emphasized
that "in speaking of totalitarian sects ... we do not have in mind new
religious movements but are talking about groups whose ideology and practice
are dangerous for the individual and society."
An appendix listed the groups considered
to be the most dangerous sects. The list included Society of Krishna Consciousness,
New Acropolis, Sinton of Koslov, Church of the Last Testament, and Reiki.
Conferees also began an initiative
to introduce legislation to control or prohibit the "totalitarian sects,"
modeled on similar laws in Western Europe.
During the three-day conference,
Scientology members picketed the locale, the St. Nicholas Orthodox Educational
Center. Scientologists in the conference room interrupted speakers about
10 times.