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Home , Sword of the Spirit

When Right

Goes Wrong

By Russ Bellant National Catholic Reporter. November 18, 1988 The Cast:

Ralph Martin, the Nicaruguan Contras, Steven Clark, the Roman Curia, Tom Monoghan Big Buisness Umberto Belli, and the CIA

$1.00 IWHEN I Ir------I i

SECRECY

OON'TTELL

. 'rr~A.B GOD SPEAKS TO YOUR LEADERS ONA SURPRISINGLY FREQUENT BASIS.

A WORLD TO WIN ~------~7GOESwaONG VVGrd of God network wants to 'save the world'

Martin began to introduce changes and njght-wing alliance impose procedures that would expand and grow to this day. They created "coor- dinators" (leaders), district subgroups includes curia, called "subcommunities" (later called "districts") and a formal initiation Pre- big business, cess for membership. Each member was expected to make a "public commitment" contras and CIA to the group, entering into a new "cove- narrt." Leaders thus began to describe the ~ IllTi.-:trwtic reneural, OTl(' or the more ax a "covenant Christian '[ . ::!rtn ifi'stu.tions o(ChristiunilY ijifl("{' community." :;;. 1\ '(!lIC(lfI council, came alive 'in the "From that point onward," says former .' " i:cII Stoff's ill the late 1960s. It is ajoy- member Tom Yoder, "coordinators had

,J/ I -vncrnent u:huse adherents pro)' and increasing control. By mid·1972, they -:: ~ ::nd inn)He the fXJu'.'CTO{GrXi'S Spirit had total control." Other former mem- ·,,1 , t'cling and holiness. bers corroborate this (most informants in ;":1(' Word O(C;;x1II.'Q:o>ne of the earliest this story asked to remain anonymous for l' -) charismatic groups. The record fear of unspecified retribution). ~h j .:«, iuncecer, thut its members speak Ongoing explorations by Martin and .n ~'ifj('r('nt tongues and pursue higher Clark had led them toward this tighter : -: (:Iiulls than charismatics generally. authority. Around 1972, they were intro- i t!v, orrr the past 21 ycars, the ~'v'();d duced to the practice of "shepherding" or ; IIi has deviated from its origins to dis- "discipleship." This is essentially a doc- all die classic dements ofa cult. trine of control that causes members to J': ;w:': a/so created a far-flung network become obedient in ever larger areas of . i, Ie aim is to SOU? the world. To do this. their lives, ". • 'embers feel, it must first do battle With it went a growing lexicon of ter- ;'/: ~ the u-orld's enemies and eventually minologies defining authority. The Won! '111 (ll'er them. To this end, it has ai· of God developed layers of authority. !tself Leith conservatice elements in Members submit control of their lives to . ;i~ ! ·.S. church and in the Roman curia, a "shepherd," who in turn is submitted to , /, 1 ri~hl·ll!ing activists that include a higher "shepherd," who again is sub- ':i i rugu an contras, their U.5. support- mitted to yet a higher "shepherd," At the :he CIA and coneercative business pinnacle was Clark (today it's Martin), .:..-'I.L'e Ii'ith (I ioidc range of radical agcn- the "overall head coordinator." The st.ruc- '/(1 turebns been compared by some to the (Continued on next page) lh I\uSS BELLANT :--:'p",-:,alto the National Catholic Reporter De-tr-oit

:CTEVE CLARK and Ralph Martin "Xt;" t; two busy young Christians in the Secretive Puebla Institute has ties ,~"h, They worked at the Newman Center of Michigan State University in East ~, TheY""""""Iso'biithe see- • toCI~reentras;-conservative bishops l •.-t.c i.u of the movement. They imraersed themselves in the charismatic rev i~·al that hit Duquesne and Notre Dame universities in 1967. 'Cloak-and-dagger' Davis, for example, denied that Belli the funding, editing, production and dis- They were fired from the Newman lived in the house of Won! ofGod member tribution of the book. Ceder when the chaplain discovered style marks Jim Berlucci. Since this reporter had al- In a letter to NCR on the origins of tht·y were also involved with the funda- ready met Belli's wife and daughter (who Belli's book, Chamorro states: "In Janu- memalist Protestant Campus Crusade did not pretend to hide their identities) at ary 1983, a group of directors of the FDN tor Christ. so-called human the door, Davis, who had pledged to and CIA agents who (had) been meeting Iu November 1967, Clark and Martin remain "single in the Lord" in a Word for the purposes of organization and de- called a meeting in their apartment of rights group of God subgroup, claimed the wife and velopment of projects discussed the idea fewer than a dozen people, from which daughter were his. of funding Mr. Belli to write a book ... to· the ,Word of God charismatic group By RUSS BEUANT This shroud of secrecy is spread over discredit the Sandinista governrnent . .. heg:in. It grew to more than 100 people in Special to the National Catholic Reporter every maneuver of Puebla and its parent We proposed that Mr. Belli's work should Detroit the first four months and 1,000 in seven organizations. be funded, and the CIA gave the money." vears. There are now more than 1,600 THE PUEBLA INSTITUTE promotes In an interview, Chamorro said the adr: 1, members. Their sway, however, ex- itself as a Catholic human-rights organi- book was printed at a CIA printer in ceed-, these numbers. Through a sub- zation, Since the day it opened, however, Miami, although he wasn't able to re- ,,;djry organization, the Sword of the it has operated in a curiously cloak-and- In January 1983, a member its name, In his letter, he added Spi-i t, they control an international net- dagger way, that "the CIA also paid for the transla- work of an estimated 20,000 members, One reason may be that its ambitions group of directors tions to put it into English and other lan- who/toe tentacles in turn reach and affect are higher than its stated aims, reaching guages.ln a meeting (at which) I was pres- the 'spiritual and even the social and out to engage such diverse players as CIA of the FDN and CIA ent, the budget was approved and dis- pol.ncal lives of millions of people. operatives and contra leaders, conserva- cussed with a public relations finn (If I'ress accounts and fanner members tive Catholic prelates and rich business- agents ... discussed Miami, which was going to do the work," describe the Word of God in the late men who prefer to keep BOrneof their the idea of fLinding In separate interviews last year, Belli I%0, as unstructured, open, egalitarian business secret. and Davis denied Chamorro's assertions. and loose-knit, focused on a weekly Another reason may be the fact that Mr.Belli to write Belli said he has receipts to prove he paid cha nsrnatic prayer meeting. Most early Puebla is a front, an "action center," for for the book's printing but declined to male members, including leaders Martin the Sword of the Spirit, which in turn is a book to discredit provide such documents or name the and Clark, were conscientious objectors directed by the Won! of God. a charisma- printer, insisting it was a "private" mat- to the Vietnam war. A 1977 letter to tic group with the characteristics of a cult the Sandinista ter. In June 1985, Belli told the Min- members described the early period as (see above story). government. neapolis Star and Tribune he "paid a "limited mostly to finding a personal re- The president of the Puebla Insti- company in Michigan for printing the lauonship with tbe Lord and sharing tute, since its 1982 opening near Ann book," wit h others in charismatic worship. The Arbor, Mich., has been Humberto Belli, a A December 1984 letter sent by Davis main opportunities to serve were in Nicaraguan who had previously been Belli's hook to the Canadian branch of .Iesus to the thirlh"S such as setting up chairs for editorial-page editor of Managua's right- One of the first Puebla projects was Communist World, a Ll.Si-based anti- pra ser meetings. sharing words of en- wingLa Prensa newspaper. publication of, Belli's first book, Nica- communist group, says, however. that coumgement with one another and local The original directors of Puebla were ragua: Christians Under Fire. No print- "the 400 books for the Canadian gover-n- evangelizing." all Word of God members, as was Belli's er or publisher is identified in the book. ment will be shipped directly from the For three years, Won! of God activities aide, Joe Davis. Those involved went to According to former anti-Sandinista printer in Miami." were conducted in this informal fashion. sometimes absurd lengths to keep the National Democratic Front (FDN) leader (Continued 011 page 201 In September 1970, however, Clark and Puebla-Won! of God connection secret. Edgar Chamorro, the CIA was involved in

National Catholic Reporter November·18.'lQOO5 WCn! accompanied by calls for "spiritual ln u 1~':)7 lIwding, Won! uf{;nd HWIll' 111 the l~n·j·1l1l'IItO till' t·I)Ordlllaltll: warfare," according to Word of God docu- bcrs were encou ragcd "to set:' oursclves ns wrote. -A series or 12 teachings on t ln Word of God ments and for-mer members. The roles of a nation {t:mpt~a!'is in or'iginai I.~ Thcv wor-ld nnd the- kingdom of God wc r, men and women ",:,erc redefined. dcnYl11g wurt- 1.t,IJ, "For us, :r1~/I. there is no dist inc. giVt'll at (;t.'IlI'ral Community (;alh'·I·IIH~ women leadership positions except OVH t ion between "miht.ary.' 'civilian' and to begin the chanl:!"e~ in our lives." 'Ill!" t Corui nued from previous page) other women. "Manly character" was pro- 'spiritual' h·adL,rship· J'(·ople say members were told their ronly purpose in k.rd-vassal relationship of the Middle moted. Members began seeing the out- war is hell, but in this G1Se war is life" was to heed God's call: '" want ever- Azes. side world as hostile and threatening. heaven." person (in the Word of Godl to be ob- -In the eight and a half years I was in In Februurv 19K}, a directive informed scssed .••ith•. a desire to see my salva- the Word of God: says Yoder, "I wit- Signs of a cult members of ::o:lsic emergency prepar-a- tion.. . Iwant you to long for it, to hunge-r nessed, or heard stories from those involved, Many of the characteristics associated nons we intend to pursue." Included were and thirst for it, to pant after my po w er." of situations that most people would con- with cults can already be found in the lists of supplies and instructions for sur- Reflecting: the more intense internal sider bizarre. Some examples are: ar- growing movement: esoteric language viving an unspecified emergcncv for 30 life emerging in the Word of God, the ranged marriages. expulsion due to un- and titles; secrecy; exclusivity; declare- days. No reasons fur this were discussed coordinators said God told them, ·1 am approved marriages, people compelled to lions of war on some vague enemy; per- in the dirt-active. going to discipline you.. .1am going It, live in houses not of their choosing, a man sonal messages from a higher source. bring your lives into order. Iam going t{, f(.!'"cingdiscipline on a woman by tying For instance, Martin, speaking at a A church of their own? discipline you so that you look like Illy her up, and members submitting ad- charismatic event in St. Peter's Basilica The \Vord or C(ld, approximately 50 sons and daughters." vance schedules to their 'head' on a in Rome in 1975, predicted the destruc- percent of whose members are from From the content of these message's. an weekly or monthly basis for approval. tion of the . Leaders in Catholic backgrounds. contends it is not elaborate set of teachings evolved on. What they call 'headship' or 'pastoral the Word of God-connected communities a separate church, but rather works among other things, the need for memo leadership' goes far beyond what you'd later heard Martin and others talk of im- within various denominations to foster bers to submit their lives to their coer- find even in a cloistered monastery or in pending disasters and the need to "gather "renewal." .However. several aspects of dinators, for men to begin wearing man, military life." an army.TThose not under the leadership the Word of GOldand the Sword of the t les and women veils. Spirit communities indicate the struc- Former members say the emphasi- ture and practice of an independent began changing from God to community church: One woman who had been in the \Vord 01 • Tithing is virtually demanded of God eight years said, "l left because 'com- Many of the characteristics associated members. munity' replaced God. 'Community' wa- • There is <1 unique, authoritative doc- identified with Jesus." with cults can already be toundin trine. "It was done little by little by little," • Special groups have been formed says the former member, who requested the growing movement: esoteric similar to religious orders. anonymity. "That's the reason so many • Independent fellowships have been swallowed this junk, why they submit to language and titles; secrecy; created that parallel denominational this bondage." churches. The Word of God can be compared to a exclusivity; declaration of war on • It has its own quasi-sacramental sys- church also in that it claims for itself tem. spiritual and moral authority over its some vague enemy; personal messages members. In his Patterns of Christian Community, Clark says coordinators from a higher source. "have the final authority in the communi, Tithing ty. . Nothing can be said to be an ac- Members are expected to donate 10 percent of their income to the \Vord of tion of the community without their ap- proval." A 1984 booklet titled Patterns of Chris- influence of the Word of God were consid- God, and not to any other church they Ii"" Community, written by Clark, af- ered predominantly evil, according to may attend. To this end, members are Firms this rigidity: "The elders (leaders) former members, given fonns to report their annual in- Quasi-religious orders can determine which community ac- Much of this was fully articulated in a come to the Word of God office. An addi- The beginnings of quasi-religious or- tivities the individual members should 1981. "training course,' In one section tional one percent is also expected for ders also suggest a parallel to established take part in and what services they Clark states, "We are already at war, so "outreaches" of Sword of tile Spirit. church institutions. There are special should perform for the body even if we have been attacked, Therefore, we can groups within the Word of God for those the call implies a significant change in strike out on an offensive - we should Doctrine who have made a lifelong commitment to the personal life of the individual·or he. fight this war aggressively." While the Word of God says it has no stay "single for the Lord." About IOU family," AlthoUgh Clark says "Satan began" the exclusive doctrine of its own, there is, in members, including Clark, have made ln the early 1970s; contacts were made war, he had identified humanism and fact, a substantial body of extra-Catholic such a pledge to be celibate "servants of by Clark and Martin with the leaders of leftist political ideologies as concrete beliefs that members are required to ac- Christian Growth Ministries in Fort enemies, In spite of the "satanic" nature cept. The ultimate authority and source Lauderdale, Fla. That pentecostal group of these enemies, Clark offers that "we for the Word of God belief system is the subsequently embraoed shepherding! can have strategic truces with them," ac- coordinators, This elaborate doctrine is discipleship practice. Without the knowl- cording to a training-course document. taught to initiates as a condition of mem- Members are ex- edge of the Word of God members, Martin In the Word of God, secrecy is a valued bership. An ongoing series of events. such and Clark began meeting the "Fort part of the warfare method, Clark told .as "Life in the Spirit Seminars," conveys pected to donate Lauderdale Five: who would become members his warfare plan "does not have these ideas and directions to the mem- controversial in pentecostal and evangel- to be open warfare, but can be covert." He bership. It takes several years to com- 10percent of their ical circles for their advocacy of shepherd- adds, "If we become openly aggressive plete all the required courses. . ing. (open warfare), , ,then we would come Although the Bible is cited as au- income to the Word By 1974, the FortLauderdale group, under direct attack of the media and thority, great emphasis is placed on made up of Bob Mumford, Charles other major anti-Christian groups." received by the leaders. A con- of God, and not to Simpson, Derek Prince, Don Basham Members were also told, "We want to fidential 1977 memo to members states: and Em Baxter, joined with Clark and stem the tide of evil in the church." "The Lord spoke again to the coor- any other church Martin to fonn a secret group called "The The training course was given mainly dinators," and, "The immediate response Council." Minutes from their first meet- to the Word of God members who had al- on the part of the coordinators has been they may attend. To ing state, "We will not make a public an- ready made a total commitment to the to commit ourselves to lead, as GOd's nouncement about our commitment to- group. They were sworn to keep the con- people, away from every worldly influ- this end, members g-ether," tents of the course secret from anyone but ence." By the end of 1975, the minutes state: those taking the course with them, Word of God members were told that a are given forms to "The Lord is giving us a work that many including "underway" members (those indicated they were a special, in the church do not understand: bring- going through the two- to three-year pro- chosen people. God was quoted as saying, report their annual ing believers together in a committed, cess of initiation) and even other full "I and those who are with me call you 'the disciplined, submitted relationship to be members. They were even told to keep Word of God' because you are my Word income to the Word i-t network of bodies that can be a servant the promise of secrecy a secret, now to the whole face of the earth." And to God in the world. That is our primary -Additionally, those given the course again, "I have called you and I have of God office. call." were pledged to a "Statement of Commit- created you not for your own sake, but for Later minutes show Clark and Martin ment" that said in part: the sake of all those whom I would gather committed to "their present responsibiIi- We are ready for every sacrifice, to myself. 1am going to give you my Spirit tie ..•in such a way as to support the coun- even death, the Lord honors us by in a way in which I have never given my the Word: after a title used by the cil and its stated objectives," including calling us to die for him or our Spirit to any people. I am going to make Bruderhoff, an Austrian ana baptist Sect planning "national and world strategy." brothers. you my people in a way in which I have Clark visited in the mid-1970s. A small Fred Bedford, a former associate of the We will be loyal to our command- never before made any people my group of women form the "Servants of Fort Lauderdale group, recalled arrang- ers, knowing that they are com-. people." God's Love." i"l( a meeting of the council in 1982. mitted to defend and provide for our A series of prophecies was proclaimed Ceremonies are conducted for those Council members Simpson and Mumford homes and families. We will serve to the Word of God members to make making this lifetime pledge. They tend to an: still active in Word of God activities. where they direct us and in the way their group a "bulwark" against the com- live in separate group households [hat In the mid-1970s, leaders of the Word they direct us. ing apocalypse. These prophecies helped maintain a strict regimen of activities of <.;00 set about changing the outlook of We will keep our plans and move- form the basis for changing the Word of beyond their Word of God duties. Former members through teachings and prophet- ments hidden from the enemy and God into a more structured. controlled members characterize them as "quasi-re- ic utterances, Apocalyptic warnings his agents. group. ligious orders." Super-denominational authority clergy; exorcisms; and anointing of the Four fellowships provide denomina- sick by the elders. tional alternatives to the established Exorcisms - called "deliverances" - churches. Christ the King is recognized are practiced frequently. According to by the Lansing diocese as a Catholic Word of God literature, those with cer- parish, although it has no building of its tain problems are considered possessed own. Its priest, Father Frank McGrath, is by demons, and deliverance experts cure a Word of God member. The Word of them. Members may be judged at any God's Lutheran fellowship is seeking af- time to be possessed by a demon if their filiation with the Missouri Synod. Pres- behavior shows, for example, greed, lust, byterian and nondenominational pen-. pride or malice. One or more other people tecostal fellowships were also created by drive the evil spirit from the stricken the Word of God. Within these fellow- member. His or her behavior is expected ships, such parochial functions as rnar-" to change afterward. riages and baptisms are performed. Such rites are widely used by cults as a means of control: Anyone out of line can be deemed to have a demon. "Deliverance practices in the Word of God put a lot of The Word of God psychological stress on those being deliv- ered of demons they didn't even know group conducts other they had," says Yoder, who underwent quasi-sacraments, such experiences. A Word of God internal document says such as a 'Lord's Day deliverance practices can help new mem- bers overcome "spirits of independence, Observance' every rebellion, feminism, isolation, etc." Other psychological targets of deliverance are Saturday as a kind of "self-image problems, guilt, shame, etc." eucharist; 'Baptism The Word of God states in its public lit- erature, such as a book on deliverance by in the Holy Spirit'; Father Michael Scanlan, that "solemn exorcism" or "driving out the devil from a confessions without possessed person" should only be per- clergy; exorcisms; formed by a priesj approved by the local bishop, as stipulated in canon law. An in- and anointing of the ternal document, however, states that anti demonic deliverance can be worked sick by elders. on within the Word of God. The detailed document makes no reference to the role church. Other former members call it a Critics charge that the Word of God of priests or bishops, but recommends a "hybrid church" or a "semi-church." leaders hope to ~old existing church eo The Word of God group conducts other "link-up to the pastoral system of the If the Word of God were to claim open into their own image. They point to quasi-sacraments, such as 8 "Lord's Day community," i.e., the Word of God leaders. independence, it would lose its influence Newark, N.J., to illustrate their point. Observance," conducted every Saturday with church authorities, its members In 1985, parishioners of Little Flower as a kind of eucharist; a "Baptism in the Canon law or loose cannons? fear. Thus, sources say, there is a tension Church in Berkeley Heights, N.J .. corn- Holy Spirit," in which the initiation to Former members vary on the degree to between the desire for the authority of an plained to the archdiocese of Newark charismatic practices begins; confessions which the Word of God is a de facto independent church and the desire for that the People of Hope, a l,200-member in group or private settings without church. Some see it as an autonomous collaboration with Rome. (Continued on next paue)

-~)eViSed and EX/Janded 10th Anniversary Ediri()n

School of Theology CELEBRAnON OF DISCIPLINE SAINT JOHN'S UNIVERSITY The Path to Spirittwl Growth

COl.LEGEVILl.E, MINNESOTA 1 Richard J, Foster

THEOLOGIC/\L EDUCATION AND SPIRITLAL LEADERSHIP SIC:CE 18\: "If cvcrvbodv in tb i..•countrv CP\d~! rL':hl- '1'111' SEARCII FOR nUTIi /\\IJ WISDOM and ht'c,J--thi!' b\lll~, wh.u ;, ,!it"f,'rcrh'r it w()ldd make (I' rhl' plnnvt , noly H' rilt' (Ib- Celebration ,IL\STER ()F ARTS IN -~h.kh-inl' I 'Ellgil-. ,wlh,'r Ill" •.\ W'link/, ,.'/1 )iso/)/illl' ) Liturgical Studies 111 Till1\, o111,j Th,'C:r","'.'lIh:b./l'llrthli ) I.iturgil'a] ,\ll1sic Domino's 'pizza tiger' linked to Word of God

other employees could attend daily Mass. ;\iOJI;,~h:LJL tn llondurns [I) Iurt hcr pL!1l Wields influence In his autobiography, Pizza Tiger, Mona- fur ih~' pnlp;-):o:;\·tl ~dlOOI. Mcncghan ;11:,,·' ghan says his ultimate goal is "to go !D ~nH':', 1111Steutn-nville's hoard. The- C.-nl ral America coordiu.nor lo- from Detroit heaven and take as many people a<; pcssi- blewith me." Domine's Pizza is Francisco Znniua. Monaghan readily discusses these and WlIrd orCod nu-mber trained this '-:':11";. to Honduras other church activities and matters of be a Sword of the Spirit courdinato;·, In .u: faith. Absent during interviews. and ab- interview last Slimmer, Zuniga said h. sent in his autobiography, however, is had incorporated a foundation for the de any mention of his close working rela- vclopment of Honduras in Panama. lt- THOMAS S. MONAGHAN owns Domi- tionship with the Word of God and the directors will include Monaghan. other n. '5 Pizza. a fast- food . enterprise that Sword of the Spirit (see part one). That businessmen and at least one Hondur.u. does $2 billion in annual sales. He owns closeness is clearly demonstrated in Cen- bishop. the Detroit Tigers baseball team and is tral America, where a number of long- J n an August 1987 interview. Monegh.i» conservatively estimated to have a per- termjoinl MonaghanlSword of the Spirit said the Honduran government and th. "mal fortune of more than $250 milliion. programs are in the works. U.S. Agency for International Develop- II.. regards his Catholic-centered spir- Monaghan has designated Honduras as nu-nt were aiding his projects. i:ual life as koy to his happiness. "My a suitable country for spawning Sword of In a move that could enhance his influ- greatest accomplishment in life has been the Spirit projects. He has established ence in the Honduran as well as the U.S the fact that I've been in the state of Domino's franchises, a sauce packing church, Monaghan announced early t hi- $3 nctified grace continually for 2O-some plant and a clothing factory for high- year the beginning of an internetion odd "ears; he !DIdNCR in April. priced export markets. all somehow con- e! Catholic businessman's group cnllec ~Innaghan has lent his name !Dvarious nected to Father Enrique Sylvestre. who legatus. The first branch was formed ir. church projects. He is one of Cardinal Ed- runs one of two Sword of the Spirit Honduras and claims the support o! mund Sroka's inner circle. He and Chrys- branches in Honduras. three bishops then.'. I", chairman Lee Iacocca signed a fund- Monaghan has been trying!D establish With land acquisition and ether pluu- f,1ising letter to cover expenses of the a two-year technical school in Honduras in Honduras, Monaghan will have signit pa pal visit to Detroit last spring. At by this fall. with the help of the Francis- icaru penetration of the economic. n'i: Szoka's request. Monaghan gave $100,000 can University of Steubenville. a Word gious, political and educational sphere- t·, the Vatican !Dhelp computerize ita op- of God-controlled school. Word of God of that country. Aware of the political im- e-r-ations. He established a chapel in his member Michael J. Healy. who is dean of plication» of his work, he noted that t h.: corporate headquarters so that he and faculty at Steubenville. has accompanied (Continued Oli page? 21)

Martin and Gallic traveled !D Rome to point or another. . The pope has a Hispanics are approached through Kervj; seek fonnal approval for the Sword of the very solid trust in them." Gagnon also ap- nut. formerly known as Hispanic-Arn.-r Spirit. pointed one couple !Dthe pcr bccau se, icon Missions, \,vhich operates through Word of God In 1986. Gerety discussed the contro- he said. they were based at the Univer- out the \Vestern Hemisphere. Agora ln- versy with officials in Rome. He retired sity of Steubenville. ternational organizes businessmen. shortly afterward, but Archbishop 'Theodore A number of these groups have sub (Continued from previous page) McCarrick inherited the problem. Hope' Sword of the Spirit sidiary activities, such as Vine Books, ,: branch of the Sword of the Spirit. took leaders express confidence the Vatican In 1983. Word of God leaders an- Servant Ministries unit intended {, over their parish. The parishioners called will grant the Sword of the Spirit some nounced the formation of Sword of the reach Protestant audiences. tuem a cult. kind of canonical status that would ne- Spirit as the vehicle for its national and The branch communities in variou. Then-Archbishop Peter Gerety ex- gate the archbishops' demands. They are international growth. About 50 affiliates cities around the world have local units ru amined the allegations and insisted' championed in the Vatican by Bishop in the United States and abroad come these mostly Ann Arbor-based out. the group sever its ties to Sword of the Paul Cordes. vice president ofthe Pontifi- under its umbrella. Branches exist. for reaches. These branches may have Iron Spirit. About 25 families then left Hope: caJ Council for the , although sev- example, in Baltimore. Providence. Mi- hundreds to more than 1.000 member, Hope leader Robert Gallic and Sword eral senior cardinals there are thought to ami, Managua, Beirut. Dublin. Johan- each. They follow the doctrine. practice, (,' the Spirit leaders appealed to support- be cool to Sword of the Spirit. nesburg arid Manila . and leadership of the Word of God. whicl. • rs in the Vatican to overrule Gerety. The pope's views on Sword of the Spirit _ .Bword of the Spirit runs various out- serves as their ideal community. have not been fully clarified. But a confer- reaches, including Servant Ministries. The entire network of businesses anc ence of Word of God members and as- through which books. cassettes and branches is engaged in what one \Vord o- soeiated groups held at the University of music are produced. University Chris- God leader called "a radical analvsis ". Steubenville last spring included several tian Outreach provides a campus pres- where the world is going and how w, ~~WEKNOW prelates close to the pope (NeR, April 8). enee, and the Center for Pastoral Re- must stand against it - how we must be- Cardinal Edouard Gagnon. president of newal attempts to reach church leaders. come a counterculture. . (We must {~~ A CHILD the Pontifical Council for the Family FIRE (Faith. Intercession. Repentance make clear that we're not just picking au, (PCF), said of the movement, "The pope and Evangelism) targets Catholics. Led scattered problems in a system witl 1,: WHO NEEDS accepts them. He is ready to accept them by Martin and Father Scanlan. it is based which we otherwise basically agret.'.". even if at times they exaggerate on one at Scanlan's University of Steubenville. YOUR SUPPORT Friends of Our tune Brothers IS a non-prutit organization that helps tnou- : Credit and enrichment courses! workshops in sands of homeless I SPIRITIJALl1Y offered weekdays. evenings. and abandoned ~ . children. We urge .••. weekends: }1)U to pledgeas Irttle . as Sl8.00 per month ..•.:., From Addiction to Recovery: A Spiritual .0 give hope and'" future to an or- ~ Journey Retrcat/Workshop nn ao ed child in The Graduate Program MeXICO. Do it today. Literature and Soul-Making ns tax deductible. and""'" in Religious Studies. ns easy and it feels good. ' Mundelein College MasterCardand Visawelcome. - \liblical Insights Into Prayer : ..YEs. I woukl like to sponsor a child. celebrates :] cannot sponsor a child but 'M)uld Practical Spirituality: like 10help. Twenty Years Service Here's my payment 01S _ Ignarion Insights ro _.' N'""' _ Dance: Spiritualiry-In-Motion A.:ldress _ TIiEOWGICAL EDUCATION City _ AND SPIRITUAL FORMATION Hispanic Spirituality State---1ip _ V,sa/MC, _ 1969-1989 For more information: Expires _ The Anniversary Summer (312) 262-8100. Ex!. 665 ell;:. [h.s coupcn iflIJ ~ It. ilOog with )QUI" on the shore of Lake Michigan pay~JO. Frieflcktl Out lICIt ItoGIttI and in the heart of Chicago Mundelein College 19 w.1JarMcI.a 11QI1P.Q. 101256CJ7 6363 N. Sheridan Rd.• ChiclgO. Il60660 _"10212 June 19-July 28. 1989 M)QUhM io'l)'QU!Stions. CiW us aI(602) 907·9J...l9 01 101 nee, 1-800-528-6455

National Catholic Reporter 8 November 16. 1988 I'

cciving Agt'n('y for International De- scenario to organize in Nicaragua was from the State Dcpart rnunt and various velopment lAID) contracts in 1977, ac- proposed. The memo's author hoped Belli national security agencies. The council cording U) his cur-riculum vitae. He also could pr-esent. the plan to the pope when has provided consuhuncies to the Stare received research contr-acts ..•.-ith. private the latter visited Nicaragua. Department, White }{OUS(: and U.S. In- agencies such as a Rockefeller-Ford The memo proposed a spiritual cover formation Aiency and has received USIA ,( 'untirllJed [rom })<.1":<" 5) Foundation survev. for its political intentions: "The attitudes funding. Forn-er Seattle br-anch scholar- :,·!;i dcknow!t:dgul t hnt contra leader He became a member of Ciudad de toward the government should not be di- in-residence George \Veigel served on a .: L-(, f("ht:lo printed (\\'0 cditions of hi .s Dios, established in 1978 in Managua as rectly confrontatory, or overtly political. USIA panel and <11:;0was senior consul- ,",_The- Stur arul Tribun.: quoted FUN an affiliate of the Ann Arbor-based Sword Instead, especially at the outset, the con- tant to the program that set up the Na- n ...k-r Alfonso Calejas as ~

N,-l!io",,1Catl)

~word of the Spirit branch headed by Council. comrns. The ht'

• Domino's corporate chaplain, Father Patrick Egan, is also a Word of God Monaghan member and head of the Word of God's Christ the King parish. It was Egan that sparked Monaghan's interest in helping (Continued from page 8) Sylvestre in Honduras. Monaghan and college he seeks to establish could develop Egan had Nicaraguan Bishop Pablo An- Honduras' "next generation ofleaders." tonio Vega celebrate a Mass at the With the Sword of the Spirit as an ally. Domino's corporate headquarters chapel he hopes to make Honduras a bastion of last August. . anti-Sandinista sentiment. To this end, • A Word of God member who ran for he toured refugee camps near the Nicara- Ann Arbor city council as a Republican guan border in a U.S. Army helicopter ran his campaign from Domino's head- with Congressman Carl Purcell from quarters. Monagh an's Ann Arbor district. The tour • Monaghan helps fund the TV minis- "OS arranged by the Puebla Institute try of Word of God cofounder Ralph Mar- rsee main story), tin and also aided the failed TV ministry Monaghan and Zuniga deny a political of Father John Bertolucci, a top leader in interest in supporting the contras. Zuniga, FIRE, the Catholic branch ofthe Sword who fled Nicaragua with his family in of the Spirit based at the University of 1979 at the collapse of the Anastasio Steubenville. Bertolucci and Puebla In- Somoza regime, says no politics are in- stitute head Humberto Belli are both on volved in his activities in Central Amer- the Steubenville faculty. Martin said in icu. But Monaghan, in an interview with 1986 that Monaghan gave his TV pro- grnm H $100,000 matching grant. • Domino's employs many Word of God members, while other real estate busi- Domino's employs nesses owned by Monaghan have Word of God members as officers, many Word of God • Bishop Kenneth Povish, an adviser to the Word of God's New Covenant members, while magazine, is also Michigan chaplain to Monaghan's Legatus group. other real estate • Legatus has integrated Word of God members into its leadership and activities. businesses owned Monaghan says he was inspired to form Legatus within hours of meeting by Monaghan John Paul II in Rome last summer. Its have Word of God membership is made up of corporate CEOs with firms having annual sales of members as at least $4 million. CEOs of financial cor- porations must head firms with $80 mil- officers. lion in assets. Its stated purpose is "pro- moting and supporting moral ethics in business in conformity with the teach- the far right-wing COllseroatiue Digest, ings of the Roman Catholic church so said failure to support the contras could that the lives of all can be enhanced." thn-aten the United States: "Talk about The first chapter of Legatus was By August 1987, Bob Thomton was Sword of the Spirit leaders, to for-: !itunino('s if we lose! It's going to be EISal- formed in Honduras in .Junc 1987 through hired as executive director of Lcgatus, Phillippines chapter of Legatus. vadot. it's going to be Panama, it's going the effort of Zuniga, who also became the working out of a Domino's office adjacent Thornton estimated in April that I..•·.·.: In I~' Mexico. \Ve could have a Soviet client I.Rgatus liaison for Central America. A to Monaghan's. He had previously been tus had 150 members, with 90· If", ,1;11\' ;llollg 1Il/" :-;ouilu-I'II horde r, " Mic-hig;lll chnpl.er W;t:; Iot-med sE'n,,-;,i itUSilWHS munage:r lor Si'rV:lllt Ministries, th~' Michigan t:h:IIIl,er. Head of III" d. Munaghau\ relationship to Word of weeks late-r, with monthly meetings that the outreach arms of Sword ofthe Spirit. tcr and one of the four director- I,! Cod and Sword of the Spirit goes beyond featured such speakers as J. Peter Gran', Thornton has arranged fur Father Herb international group is Detroit bu-rn- ! lit' I {ondu r-an ad ivit ics: Michael NOV:lkand Mother Angelica. Schneider of Manila, one of the three top (Continued on next !KJJ.:C)

National Catnolic Heporte- November 18. 198~ 21 1A.'g:ltWi chapters in tlondura.<: and Michl- ghan's many works of charity. Thelen for a pa rty for 70 people. and invited : '), g:lI1 have fc.uun-d Word nfC;od roorclinator adds, "But if one docs not work to empower prr-ss to cover the three-dav affair. B .;! i\l:irtin and Univvrsit v of Steubenville Monaghan the people themselves to address the root ncssmcn and well-known sport.s il:ld . r: President Father l\1ictl;wi Sr.mlnn. FlI- causes of their poverty, you have only tertainment ligures participated in .• i- lure nu-et iugs will include Randv and half the faith when it comes to church conspicuous consumption. One t·\.:ll t Continurd [nrm pr,·~·inuspnt:d The-rese Ci~er, Word of God activi~L<;,on teaching on social morality."> planned for the partygoers includc-! ;! 1l1;!11 Frank Stella. ;1 Republican party how 1.0 improve one's marriage. Despite Pope John Paul 11'5 teaching midnight seance on a nearby sacred '