STERN: New psycho-cults as dangerous as Scientology, say experts
Hamburg, Germany
October 16, 2002
Stern magazine

Hamburg - As reported in the Thursday edition of "Stern" magazine, reputable experts say that hundreds of psycho-cults as dangerous as Scientology have sprouted up in Germany. These new groups, most of which are rather small, are said to be a new form of extremism with respect to degree of danger, aggression and totalism.

Former members of such groups have given the story of their personal experiences to "Stern" for the first time. They reported cases of brainwashing, psycho-terrorism, dependency and shameless fraud. Some of the victims say they were made to completely disconnect themselves from their families and to give all their Euro-dollars to self-proclaimed gods.

That was how the smaller psycho-groups could be so dangerous, because enough of a symbiotic nature existed for influence to be exerted directly, as the weltanschauung representative of the North Elbe Evangelical Lutheran Church, Cabriele Lademann-Priemer, told Stern. "There are groups whose members all live together in every way. In those cases, total control over the adherents is possible."

Although a parliamentary committee of inquiry back in 1998 urged that the increasingly perfidious operations on the psycho-market be put in check, the German parliament has yet to react. The committee had recommended comsumer protection regulation, and h ad promoted the idea of a "life management assistance" law. The law was supposed to enable consumers to obtain information, prior to the signing of a contract with any commercial provider of life management assistance, about the provider's qualifications, the methods to be used, and the extents of time and of finances to be obligated.

"Consumer protection applies everywhere, not just on the psycho-market,"

said Prof. Ralf Bernd Abel. The lawyer served as an expert on the committee of inquiry and is currently providing counsel to the German government in a legal dispute with the Moon cult. "If a principle applies to groceries, meaning products that affect bodily health, then it should be no different with products that affect mental health," Abel told Stern.

--- - the above is not a literal translation - for non-commercial use only - visit http://cisar.org

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