Trigger Warning: Disturbing Content
Brazilian "faith-healer" João Teixeira de Faria, widely known as John of God, has been accused of sexually abusing hundreds of women including his own daughter. Almost two years before the scandal erupted, this writer noted John of God's involvement with Marina Abramovic, and discussed his practices in terms of ritual abuse.
This scandal can be compared with the litany of accused pedophiles in the Catholic Church, in that de Faria was looked upon as a spiritual leader by thousands of pilgrims who placed their trust and their health in his care for decades. However, the story diverges from both the #MeToo scandal and Vatican-tied pedophilia cases, in that it also encompasses claims of a brutal human trafficking ring.
A brief recount of the sexual abuse scandal that erupted late last year includes a statement by The Telegraph, whose article related:
"[Thirteen] women went on national television to make sexual violence accusations against the faith healer. The Prosecution Service of the state of Goiás confirmed it has since received 355 reports of abuses committed by Mr Teixeira from women across Brazil and abroad. Mr Teixeira has insisted that he is not guilty of any alleged abuse. Among the accusers is Mr Teixeira’s daughter, Dalva Teixeira, 49, who called her father a “monster” and alleged she was beaten and raped by the medium until she was 14 years old."
The Washington Post reported that de Faria had turned himself in to Brazil’s Civil Police on suspicion of sexual abuse, as confirmed by the Brazilian authorities.
John of God has associated with Naomi Campbell, Paul Simon, Oprah Winfrey, and allegedly Bill Clinton. John of God was also featured in a 2016 film, The Space In Between, created by performance artist Marina Abramovic. The alleged rapist previously received exposure from American cable networks, most significantly via Oprah Winfrey. The Telegraph noted that in the aftermath of John of God's arrest, Winfrey issued a statement on the matter, saying: “I empathize with the women now coming forward and hope justice is served.”
To my knowledge, there has not been any significant update on the investigation or prosecution of John of God since shortly after he turned himself in to police. The last reports I was able to find described Brazilian police reports that De Faria's "mystic powers" had been blamed for computer malfunctions and other bizarre occurrences since the cult-leader entered police custody.
Sabrina Bittencourt
Activist Sabrina Bittencourt. Image via Pragmatismo Politico
Accusations against John of God were not limited to sexual assault. Activist Sabrina Bittencourt also accused him of running a "baby farm," selling infants for tens of thousands of dollars each.
Shortly after making these claims, Bittencourt was reported to have died under mysterious circumstances that were concluded to have been a "suicide." Whether her death was actually a homicide, or did not occur at all, is currently up for debate, as noted even by establishment press outlets like The Intercept, in a non-English-language piece.
RT reported that Bittencourt had accused John of God of running “baby farms” where young women were held captive and forced to produce children – then killed when they were no longer fertile. The article states in part:
"Bittencourt claims [Joao Teixeira de Faria] ran a baby-trafficking business for years on farms and mines he owned across Brazil... After ten years of the constant abuse, Bittencourt says, the girls were murdered... “In exchange for food, they were impregnated and their babies sold on the black market. Hundreds of girls were enslaved over years, lived on farms in Goias, served as wombs to get pregnant, for their babies to be sold,” Bittencourt said."
Image: Casa de Dom Inácio, João de Deus' spiritual healing center, in Abadiânia, in the state of Goiás - Folhapress
According to the New York Post, investigators also found firearms and 'large quantities of cash in a house used by Teixeira as a spiritual retreat.'
Additional press reports noted:
"In a video, Bittencourt, whose organization, Coame, helps women report sexual assault by religious leaders, said she has spoken to women from at least three continents, including Europe, who claimed they bought Brazilian babies from John of God for as much as £40,000. "
While Marina Abramovic's infamous spirit cooking video did not include abuse of children, it did center around dumping pig blood onto a child-shaped bundle.
Australian news reports also related:
"Prosecutors have reportedly been given information that an unknown number of adoptive parents from five countries, including Australia and the US, bought Brazilian babies for a price between $27,000 and $70,000, according to Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo. The infants were said to be born to impoverished mothers who lived around John of God's compound, the newspaper reported. Deals for the babies were allegedly brokered by guides, the name given to staunch John of God believers who live in Western countries and assist the travel plans for those wishing to visit the centre in Brazil."
Why have we heard nothing about the investigation or verification of the existence (or lack therof) of these alleged baby farms since John of God's arrest? Is he still imprisoned?
On news of Sabrina Bittencourt's death, electronically translated press reports indicated: "Bittencourt , the activist who unmasked the sexual abuse of John of God and guru Prem Baba, committed suicide on Saturday 2. The death of Bittencourt, who was 38 years old, was confirmed in a note by Maria do Carmo Santos, president of the NGO Victims United."
However, additional articles, like one published by Pragmatismo Politico point out that the reports of Bittencourt's death have been contradictory at best:
"A day after the activist's suicide claim, colleagues and family members give different answers about how and where she died. Gabriel Baum, the 16-year-old eldest son, is the only close relative to speak out about death. The teenager's statements contradict the version presented by the NGO's note - according to him, the mother died in Lebanon and will be buried in that country. Gabriel also said that he met his mother for the last time in Paris, before she went to Barcelona and later to Lebanon."
An associate of Bittencourt wrote an open letter on the issue, which reads in part (after translation): "She changed her country clandestinely every week to escape those who wanted her dead. A week ago, a guy started a campaign to destroy Sabrina's reputation... [Her] children had to constantly run away from killers. The invasion of the house of one of her proteges, the constant threats and the pressure of having no life but fleeing and denouncing made her call me. And unfortunately I have not been able to stop [her suicide]."
Baby Farms
If Bittencourt's allegations regarding a "baby farm" were substantive, then in the wake of her untimely death, we are left without answers as to who the intermediaries may have been in the trafficking operation, connecting John of God and clients who were said to have paid for the infants. We are also left to wonder how John of God advertised such children, and who may have been helping him run such an operation.
In 2014, The Sydney Morning Herald wrote of the large, 50-strong "multinational" staff of volunteers at John of God's "Casa," stating that they took care of "logistics, channelling the constant flow of visitors and, most importantly, forming an impenetrable buffer around Medium João."
Were members of this core group of volunteers aware of John of God's alleged abuse? Were any of these aides among the victims?
The child-trafficking claims made against John of God are far from unique. Previously, such operations were reported to have been exposed in nations including Nigeria, China, India, Thailand, and elsewhere.
In 2011, the BBC reported: "Nigerian police have raided a hospital in the south-eastern city of Aba, rescuing 32 pregnant girls allegedly held by a human-trafficking ring. Aged between 15 and 17 years, the girls were locked up and used to produce babies, said Abia state's police chief. These were then allegedly sold for ritual witchcraft purposes or adoption."
Jezebel reported that the girls freed in the Nigerian raid said they were "raped in order to be impregnated again," a situation echoed in Bittencourt's accusations regarding John of God.
Image credit: Kim Noble, an abuse survivor unrelated to De Faria, Podesta or Pizzagate. Image is used as an example only.
It's also important to remember that cannibalism and the murder of infants is horrifically common in ritual abuse allegations, and that this may have been the fate of some infants if Bittencourt's claims regarding the existence of "baby farms" run by John of God are shown to be true. Such infants would have no record of birth, and would be relatively easy to smuggle over the porous border between Latin American nations, as well as between the US and Mexico. Such children - dark skinned, and in cages - were specifically described by RA Anon and other ritual abuse survivors
The Entity
According to some news reports, John of God was also commonly known as "The Entity," and described as having a massive influence in the local area.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported: "The Entity oversees everything here, from new businesses (which must be "Entity Approved"), to new construction. One Australian casa staff member told me that before building a house here, she ran the plans past The Entity."
Image via Archived versions of De Faria's website.
One electronically translated interview between John of God and a Brazilian press outlet recounted: "The outlet then asked John of God: Why did you need the declarations of honesty and the charity of your spiritual activity of healing? His answer:".... If it were not the endorsement of the police officers and other authorities, they would arrest me and beat me."
What exactly was the nature of the relationship between De Faria and local police officers, prior to the news of sexual abuse allegations against the "healer?"
The Brazilian faith-healer's website, now unavailable but preserved through archive.org, also described John Of God working via alleged entities: "[John of God] gives over his consciousness and incorporates the spirits of past doctors and saints. These entities give talks, examine the waiting masses and conduct the visible and invisible operations."
Prior to the eruption of this latest scandal, news reports covering his practices described his "psychic surgeries" thus:
"Primetime" witnessed one in which João took four-inch gauze-tipped steel forceps, dipped them in a solution he calls "holy water," and shoved the forceps all the way up a patient's nostril and twisted them violently."
The Washington Post wrote of the procedures:
"These surgeries include forcefully shoving a pair of forceps up people’s noses to the point that it is nearly poking their brains, as his followers have described it, or slicing people open without anesthesia. Alternatively, he is perhaps best known for performing “psychic surgeries,” supernatural invisible procedures involving no scalpels or forceps whatsoever, using only the power of what he calls the “Entity.” By channeling these spirits, he has claimed to treat the blind, the paraplegic, and those ill with cancer, leprosy and other diseases. He has no medical license and has previously been jailed for practicing medicine anyway."
Gruesome photographs and videos depict John of God's "operations" on thousands of people seeking miraculous recoveries. One source, writes: "“Psychic surgeons” are mostly concentrated in Brazil and the Philippines with roots in spiritualist movements that believe spirits of the dead can communicate with the living. Like Faria, they often appear to go into a trance while doing their work, allowing God, dead doctors or other spirits to flow through them."
I have previously discussed the significance of the body in ritual abuse, specifically citing John of God's practices as an example of ritual abuse in-plain-sight.
CONTENT WARNING:
While the accusations lodged against John of God echo the many reports of "baby farms" from other parts of the globe, the situation regarding "John of God" and his status as a quasi-cult-leader with ties to established figures and new-age centers in the United States makes the situation uniquely disturbing. The death of Sabrina Bittencourt seems to have stopped short any call for a full investigation into the existence of alleged child trafficking "farms." it is unclear as to what if any investigation of the matter has been undertaken by authorities on the ground in Brazil.
The Omega Institute
Image via eomega.org
In addition to the well-known celebrities who visited John of God's compound, he also traveled to the United States, apparently exclusively on a 2017 trip to the Omega Institute in New York.
As noted by previous researchers, the trip featured Rosa Haritos, described as a member of Faria's "healing team," with a Ph.D. in Medical Sociology from Columbia University and Andrew Mellon Fellowship at Stanford University. Haritos also served as a guide for visitors to John of God's compound in Brazil.
Haritos's work history included extensive training in both medical sciences and foster care, in addition to her long-time role as a guide for visitors to the 'Casa.' Her previous education and experience and education, according to her own website, includes the following:
" I received my PhD from Columbia University in 1993 and went on to Stanford University as an Andrew Mellon Fellow. My interests turned to HIV and I was fortunate to study alongside clinicians and scientists from around the world, including the Pasteur Institute in France and the National Institutes of Health in Maryland. Laboratories and hospital settings brought me closer to the world of science and medicine but I missed the academic diversity of a teaching/research institution."
"In 1996, I joined the faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill, NC and expanded my research interests in the areas of mental health and illness. Driven to do more in the way of public policy, I moved back to New York in 2001 and joined the Vera Institute of Justice, working with children in the foster care system. I found the immediacy and hands-on quality of policy work rewarding but I still felt my work didn’t get to the root cause of suffering or have a lasting benefit in improving a person’s quality of life."
In light of the fact that John of God's "guides" were said to have been intermediaries between Faria and customers who bought infants, one is prompted to ask: Was Haritos one such intermediary?
Did any such alleged sexual assault or child trafficking take place during De Faria and Haritos's visit to the Omega institute, a site already discussed by myself and others in relation to the Centers Gathering ring?
John of God, left, pictured with Rosita Haritos, right. Image via HealingChannels.com
This author previously discussed the Omega institute in relation to the "Centers Gathering" ring, of which Esalen, Findhorn, and Omega are member organizations. This writer's reporting on the Centers Gathering ring dates back to December 2016. Related Pastebin
As noted by other researchers, the Omega Institute provides employment for teachers including Russell Targ, whose biography describes his work with the CIA and his co-founding role with Stanford Research Institute, a campus infamous for its involvement in MKULTRA research:
"Russell Targ, a physicist, author, and pioneer in the development of the laser and laser applications, was cofounder of the Stanford Research Institute’s investigation into psychic abilities in the 1970s and 1980s for the CIA. There, he participated in 20 years of experiments in remote viewing, a psychic method of gathering information from afar."
Although the research done by Voat researchers rightly discusses the biography of Omega's co-founder, Elizabeth Lesser, they miss this aspect of her biography:
"Prior to her work at Omega, she was a midwife and birth educator."
Image via RA Anon
Birth, and the abuse and/or murder of children immediately following birth, is a common theme in ritual abuse allegations. It was also noted in the Pizzagate scandal, specifically in terms of the Amanda Kleinman "comedic" description of murdering an infant upon birth. ("I had to put that shit down. Euthanasia.")
Lesser also shows up on Oprah Winfrey's website 200 + times, at the time of writing.
This writer's December 2016 research included ties between the Omega Institute and Ecstatic living, an organization that advocates sex ed for four-year-old children. In addition, this writer found that former President Bill Clinton is also described as a "teacher" on the Omega Institute's website.
As I previously noted, Clinton gave a speech at the Omega Institute in 2013.
My research also noted the biography of the Omega Institute's Bruce Schearer. Schearer "serves on the Omega Board of Directors and is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations," and "advised the Magis system of Jesuit educational organizations in Latin America."
While none of the above is particularly damning in-and-of-itself, it seems to this author noteworthy that John of God's only trip to the US was to the Omega campus, and it appears likely that the institute should be the focus of more intense study in future.
Conclusion
Although "baby farms" and rape claims are not in an of themselves ritualistically abusive, the case of John of God represents the intersection of allegations of rape, "baby farming," bloody ritualistic practices, and connections with established Hollywood figures and the infamous spirit-cooker herself, Marina Abramovic.
Unfortunately, at this time we cannot definitively answer the following core question: Does the allegation that de Faria ran an illicit child-breeding farm represent a tie between Abramovic's ritualistic practices, and child trafficking?
The fact remains, however, that it is extremely significant that child-breeding allegations would be lodged against a figure already known to practice bloody rituals and who has been involved with a central figure of the pizzagate/spirit cooking scandal (Abramovic) as well as an institute in the alleged Centers Gathering ring.