Members of The Church of Almighty God hold signs during a rally to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre at the West Lawn of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on June 4, 2019. (Photo: AFP)
By Ryan Dagur
August 17 2022
Concern grows over Church of Almighty God luring people in Catholic-majority East Nusa Tenggara province.
Indonesian authorities say they are monitoring a Chinese Christian cult suspected of trying to lure local Catholics in East Nusa Tenggara province.
The Church of Almighty God (CAG) is aggressively recruiting new members, including women and children, through social media, said Gondolpus Nggarang, head of Manggarai district’s National Unity and Political Agency.
He said they are currently “conducting surveillance and monitoring people” suspected to have been exposed to the group.
CAG, also known as Eastern Lightning, is believed to have some 3-4 million members in China.
It is reportedly in the crosshairs of the Communist regime for its anti-government stance, while mainstream Christian groups view it as a radical fringe cult movement.
In Manggarai, the group led by Maria Fatima Susur, a married woman with children, living in the district capital Ruteng, is actively involved recruiting new members.
“God will come again, this time through a woman”
“Their main targets are women within their family circles and neighborhoods,” Naggaang said on Aug. 14.
He said they learned of the group’s existence in May when Susur’s husband, Yohanes Latus, reported that his wife “no longer goes to the Catholic church to attend Mass.”
The group’s teachings were different from the belief held by people in the district, where 95 percent of the 325,530 people are Catholic.
Susur reportedly tried to influence her husband and children and eventually got kicked out of the house, Nggarang said
The official said they found more vital information about the group through one of its members, a student at a vocational high school in Ruteng.
“The group believes that Lord Jesus did work to ensure salvation for mankind, but it is not over yet. That’s why God will come again, this time through a woman, Yang Xiangbin, from China,” Nggarang explained.
Yang is the nominal head of Eastern Lightning, while its real leader is her lover, Zhao Weishan, who first began proclaiming the divinity of Yang.
“The CAG is known for resorting to illegal recruitment tactics such as kidnappings”
He said the group did not have a place for worship and mostly coordinated through a WhatsApp group. They held two face-to-face meetings in the district this year, one of which was at a Marian shrine in Golo Curu on the outskirts of Ruteng.
Nggarang said the WhatsApp group they investigated has around 700 members throughout Indonesia, of which the majority were in Manggarai district and spread across three sub-districts.
They received prayers and doctrinal teachings, as well as a number of books through the group, he said.
Nggarang said that the district government has scheduled a meeting with the principals of junior and senior high schools to alert them about the group’s activities.
“ appeal to Christians, through parish priests and Protestant pastors, asking their sub-district heads to monitor the group’s activities,” he said.
Founded in 1991, the CAG is known for resorting to illegal recruitment tactics such as kidnappings for its expansion.
“We would be happy to work with the government to curtail their influence”
Media reports say Zhao and Yang moved to the US in 2000 and oversee CAG operations from New York City. The couple has declared open war against the officially atheist Chinese Communist Party by labeling it the “red dragon.”
The CAG has been banned in China for its anti-government stance. It is listed among Xie Jiao like another controversial cult group, Falun Gong.
Manggarai district is one of three districts that are part of Ruteng Diocese in the western part of Flores Island.
Father Laurensius Sopang, parish priest of Holy Spirit Church in Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai district said he had no information regarding the group’s whereabouts in his area.
“However, among the priests, the existence of this group is a subject of discussion. We would be happy to work with the government to curtail their influence,” he told UCA News.
Markus Dermin, a local Catholic said he was part of the cult’s Facebook group for about six months.
“If we don’t understand Catholic teachings well, we will definitely be trapped. For example, they don’t agree to confession through the priest. I had a long debate with them. Therefore, they removed me from the group,” he said.
He said Catholics must be vigilant and most importantly stick to true Catholic teachings. – UCA News
