Shincheonji Church: Perth parents claim ‘religious cult has stolen their children’ as council battles group
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Opponents of the controversial Shincheonji Church are demanding their council channel Pink Floyd’s view on education and deny the religious movement’s quest to keep using its West Leederville teaching base.
The group has run its teachings from an office in Cambridge Street for more than a year but a crackdown by the Town of Cambridge has forced it to apply to change the use of its building to “education establishment”.
And while it might boil down to a matter of town planning technicality, the idea that Cambridge council is tackling the presence of Shincheonji in their suburbs is giving some increasingly frightened Perth parents hope of reclaiming their children from what they describe as a high-control group or even a religious cult.
Roleystone man Jim Spencer, whose daughter is involved, was one of several people to speak out passionately this week about why the education facility was not wanted or warranted.
“Us parents are working hard to get our kids out … our kids have been stolen from us,” he said at a Town of Cambridge council briefing session.
“My daughter spends 16 hours a day at this place, six days a week, voluntarily.
“We have 80 ex-students who have joined us who are currently recovering from the psychiatric trauma using counselling.”
Content retrieved from: https://www.perthnow.com.au/local-news/perthnow-western-suburbs/shincheonji-church-opponents-of-perth-cult-battle-bid-to-become-educational-establishment-c-15382160.
