Recently, the F.C.C.E. held a special seminar in Brussels, where guests from legislative, religious and governmental backgrounds discussed the topics of respecting, protecting religious beliefs and exposing the dangers of sects, writes Laurent Jacques.

   At the meeting, independent journalist Roland Delcourt who followed sects’ activities introduced a sect called "Almighty God" or "Eastern Lightning", clearly exposing fundamental differences between religions and sects.

F.C.C.E. special seminar in Brussels

    Delcourt claimed that in order to grow and increase the number of their followers, the Church of Almighty God engages in dubious activities, discriminating and slandering other sects and different Christian religions.

    Christian opponents and the international media have in turn described it as a sect and even as a "terrorist organization".

    It seems pretty clear that this movement has nothing Christian other than its name.

   The Vatican has rejected the sect which claims to be Christian. In April 2013, the Vatican news agency Agenzia Fides made the following remarks about it: "with its methods of abuse and blackmail against the heads of the Catholic Church, used to mount cleverly constructed scandals", The Church of Almighty God "sows confusion among evangelical and Catholic Christians".

   Roland Delcourt also presented a report about “Bitter Winter” and its founder Massimo Introvigne, who has defended groups as diverse as the Unification Church "Moonies", the Church of Scientology, the Chinese Church Eastern Lightning (accused of links to the murder of Wu Shuoyanen in 2014), the Order of the Solar Temple (responsible for 74 deaths in mass murder-suicides), Aum Shinrikyo (responsible for the 1995 Tokyo sarin gas attack) and Shincheonji “Church of Jesus”, accused of having furthered the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea as a result of its follower’s unethical behaviour.

   He believes that Bitter Winter and Massimo Introvigne find a favourable response only in ultra-conservative and far-right circles.

   Mr Introvigne is never the last when it comes to attacking those who propose means of combating the phenomenon of sects, such as Alain Gest, who chaired a Commission of Inquiry into Sects and whose observatory Guānchá Tái was created following the report made in 1995 by a parliamentary commission of inquiry on sects, chaired by and whose rapporteur is Jacques Guyard.

   In his book: Une Secte au cœur de la République, Serge Faubert reveals to us, with supporting documents, the extent of the infiltration of sects in the political class, economic circles, national defence and the education.

   In an article published on March 15, 2021 on Bitter Winter, Introvigne attacks Luigi Corvaglia, member of the board of directors and of the scientific committee of F.E.C.R.I.S. (European Federation of Research and Information Centers on Sectarianism), for claiming that Bitter Winter is the only source that claims the Church of Almighty God is being persecuted in China.

  He also castigates Luigi Corvaglia for having organised, according to him, an anti-sect coalition in the company of Gerry Armstrong (former member of the Church of Scientology, persecuted by the sect), Alexander Dvorkin, vice-president of F.E.C.R.I.S. and Pastor Thomas Gandow (who was amoung the first to make the link between sects and the far-right), during a conference in Salekhard, Siberia.

   Finally, Mr Delcourt quoted Bruno Fouchereau (author of: Mafia des Sectes) who wrote in Le Monde Diplomatique: “90% of sects are of American origin or based in the United States, and others like Almighty God are from Asia but are remotely controlled and mainly financed from the United States.“

   At the meeting, Mr. André Lacroix, an independent writer who has been to Tibet many times and published several books, gave a special insight into how some Western media mislead the people and use untrue and false news to gain attention and achieve a certain kind of political Purpose. In particular, some organisations, under the banner of freedom of belief, are doing the work of helping sects, confuse the public, and create factors of instability for society.

   Whether in Europe or other parts of the world, we should always be alert and mindful of the rise and threats to society of various sectarian organisations.