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I am a former member of the laity who attended Masses offered by the breakaway Catholic group, the Society of St Pius X (SSPX). This group has been established in Ireland since the 1980s. My family started attending their chapels when I was a child. I left the Society many years ago and now I look back and believe that this group is a cult or has cultic tendencies. My understanding of a cult or high demand group is that it is not defined by belief but by behaviour, that behaviour being undue influence and control over other people’s lives. It is possible that the Society of St Pius X was initially set up with good intentions but quickly became a high demand group with cultic characteristics. I wish to highlight what attracts well-meaning Catholics to this group and the control that is then exercised over many aspects of their lives. I also wish to highlight the need for a greater understanding of cultic issues and groups in Ireland by the Irish Government. There is a great need for a State funded body to provide support and advice to cult survivors, to investigate high demand cultic groups, to provide education about this topic to the general public. The Government has done great work in passing legislation making coercive control in personal relationships a crime that can be tried in court. Coercive control exercised by cultic groups must also be addressed.
The Jehovah’s Witnesses church says its elders “endeavour to comply with secular laws about reporting allegations of abuse” – but survivors say that does not necessarily translate to helping the authorities.Jason Farrell
25. The Jehovah’s Witnesses are one of few religious organisations which have an internal disciplinary process which can lead to the expulsion of members. The internal disciplinary processes of the Jehovah’s Witnesses continue to use a rule of corroborative evidence known outside the community as ‘the two-witness rule’, whereby in the absence of a confession the evidence of two material witnesses is required to establish an allegation, which can then lead to disfellowship for the purposes of internal discipline. The rule is not intended to be a safeguarding measure. Nevertheless, it has no place in any response to child sexual abuse and fails to reflect the reality that by its very nature child sexual abuse is most often perpetrated in the absence of witnesses. The rule’s capacity to cause harm to victims and survivors of child sexual abuse is clear. We have received first-hand evidence of this harm. As it presently operates, the Jehovah’s Witnesses internal disciplinary process for disfellowshipping members bears no relationship to how sexual crime happens. The continuing use of this rule shows a disregard of the seriousness of the crimes involved and their impact on individuals. It also lacks compassion for the victim, and serves to protect the perpetrator.
A follower of the controversial House of Prayer has defended her belief that anyone who gets the vaccine will “receive the mark of the beast” and go to hell.
Christina Gallagher, who founded the House of Prayer on Achill Island, Co Mayo, claims that she gets messages from Jesus that the vaccine is somehow affiliated with the Devil.
Speaking on RTE’s Liveline, a caller named Mary took umbrage with Joe Duffy’s discussion which questioned the validity of these outrageous claims.
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