For many they are still just a memory of the seventies. One of the many communities born in the climate of the American counterculture between guitars, preaching, community life and a radical idea of spirituality. For others, however, the name evokes one of the most controversial organizations of the twentieth century: a universe populated by abuse, psychological manipulation, total control of followers and systematic sexual exploitation. In other words, the most emblematic of contemporary “religious sects”.
But the story of the Children of God does not belong only to the United States and the past. On the contrary. The traces left by the movement founded by the American preacher David Berg continue to resurface in unexpected ways in our country too. Not only because the presence of the sect in Italy was much more widespread than has always been believed, but also because some former protagonists of that period have today reinvented themselves as preachers, pastors and religious leaders capable of gathering tens of thousands of followers.
This is one of the most surprising results that emerged from the investigation that the writer of this article carried out for the podcast The Children of God (OnePodcast, available for free on all platforms), in which unpublished testimonies, documents and stories of those who experienced that reality from the inside were collected.
To understand the scope of the phenomenon, however, we need to go back to the beginning. The founder David Berg, who over time claimed to be called Moses, built his organization around a simple and very powerful belief: the world is heading towards the Apocalypse and only those who follow his teachings will be able to save themselves. From here a community is born that requires absolute dedication, total obedience and the progressive abandonment of any connection with the outside world.
Love for God becomes the principle that marks and justifies every aspect of daily existence.
Not only on the spiritual level, but also on the sexual level. In fact, the practice of “sharing” is spreading within the communes, a form of collective sexuality in which relationships between the various members are encouraged and organised. The basic idea is that every act of love actually represents a manifestation of love towards God. The consequences of this system still emerge today in the stories of several former members. There are women who have spent much of their lives in communities and who today are unable to establish with certainty who the father of their children was: «I don’t know. There was a program within the commune that was hung on the wall and with that the pastor decided on the various couples”, one of them told us.
Words that convey the level of total control exercised over personal relationships. A control that started from the top and radiated down to the most insignificant aspects of existence. Berg’s directives came through the famous MO Letters, missives sent to communities around the world. Texts that established norms, behaviors and ways of life. «We taught what Berg ordered. He told us everything we had to do, from the most serious things to the stupidest ones, such as how many pieces of toilet paper we had to use in the bathroom”, continues Patrizia, now sixty years old, who spent ten years within the organisation. Each local leader was also required to compile detailed reports on the members of their community.
A sort of permanent monitoring that transformed private life into the organisation’s business. Even money was subject to strict rules. The followers had to give up their possessions and contribute financially to the support of the movement. «The invitation», explains psychologist Cristina Caparesi, who has worked with the Children of God for years, «was to abandon everything, including and above all one’s belongings, which were entirely donated to the organization».
But one of the most controversial aspects of this cult is the so-called flirty fishing. It consisted of using seduction and sexual relations as a tool for proselytism, fundraising and building relationships useful to the community. Women were encouraged to establish intimate relationships with men outside the group to attract new powerful and wealthy followers, or to obtain financial support. «With very few exceptions», says Rosa, a former member of the community, «everyone did flirty fishing. Me too. For years. And this is what strikes me most today: when I think of the woman I was then, I don’t see someone who felt exploited, I see a woman who loved the community. Who loved God. And who truly believed he was doing the right thing. Only much later do you really start to think about what happened. And when you do, there’s no mincing words: there’s little to discuss. It was prostitution.”
Even in Italy the judiciary has dealt with the Children of God several times. One of the main investigations was born in Rome when the Flying Squad carried out a series of searches in apartments used by the followers and inside the Ok Club, a nightclub frequented by members of the movement.
The investigators seized internal documents, brochures and propaganda material. In the final report we read that from the texts acquired “there are elements of criminality towards the organizers of the sect regarding the crimes of criminal association and exploitation and aiding and abetting prostitution”. The accused will be acquitted. But the ruling of the Court of Rome of 15 November 1991 still leaves some fixed points. The judges write that «it was established with certainty that Berg was the founder and leader of the community called “The Children of God”; that he was the author of the pamphlets and “letters” of which some of the accused were found in possession, and that, probably, he was the real recipient of 10% of all the proceeds, which were sent to Zurich and other unspecified locations”.
Then there is the most dramatic chapter: that of minors. Over the years, internal documents and publications attributed to Berg have fueled very serious accusations regarding the sexualization of children and abusive practices. Amoreena Winkler, born within a group in Italy, says: «As far as I remember, I suffered the first abuse when I was four years old. And I’ve seen other children over the years be abused.
It was a practice that was part of everyday life.”
Then he adds: «I remember every single violence I suffered and not only from the person who acted as my father, but also from other men of the sect. Because that’s how it worked: children were often exchanged, you give me your daughter and I’ll lend you mine.”
It would seem a story destined to end with Berg’s death in 1994, and with the progressive transformation of the organization. But it is precisely here that the most unexpected data emerges. Some former members haven’t just put that past behind them. They built new religious realities, new groups and new communities. The most emblematic case is that of Radio Blast, a web radio led by the mysterious “Brother Giuseppe”. A character who never shows his face and who continues to preach themes very similar to those of the Children of God, such as the imminent end of time, the constant presence of the devil, the arrival of the Antichrist. And, just like in the community of Berg, the request for tithing appears here too. “The truth is that he preaches only for economic purposes, so he is making himself rich,” says a woman who followed him for months to Chile, where the guru lives today. According to the reconstruction collected in the podcast, Giuseppe Avenia, former director of the Children of God, hides behind the name of Brother Giuseppe.
“He was called Aaron,” says a woman who met him within the community. The name is not irrelevant. In fact, Aaron himself appears in various historical materials of the organization as the translator of Berg’s texts. The same woman adds: «I also had sex with him once. I was forced.” And when asked if one of her children could be Avenia’s son she replies: “Yes, it could because we didn’t use contraceptives, they were forbidden.”
We don’t know if all this is true or not. We would have liked to ask Brother Giuseppe directly but it proved impossible to contact him by overcoming the rigid shielding of the followers surrounding him. The story, however, has now gone beyond the confines of journalistic investigation and has also landed in Parliament. The 5 Star MP Stefania Ascari presented a question to the Ministers of Justice and Foreign Affairs asking “if it is possible to obtain concrete and timely information from the Italian Embassy in Chile” on Giuseppe Avenia and “what elements they have regarding the matter, which appears extremely serious, also in consideration of the need to protect Italian citizens and also considering that in the past the Children of God organization has been affected by multiple judicial investigations which then stalled”.
In the meantime, there is already a certainty. More than half a century after the birth of the Children of God, the ideas, languages and some of the figures that populated that universe do not seem to have disappeared. They changed their name, platform and audience. And they continue to be listened to.
