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Casey McCann

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Michael Thomas M. Casey McCann (c. 1943–2000), commonly known as Casey McCann or M.T.M. Casey McCann, was an anti-cult activist in Britain, Sevenoaks School staff person in Kent, and headmaster of St. Paul's British School in São Paulo, Brazil. He is well-known for his co-leadership in Family, Action, Information, Rescue (FAIR) in the 1980s with Lady Daphne Vane.[1][2]

In 1943, McCann was born in Wexford, Ireland. His mother was Irish Catholic and his father was Anglican English. He studied economics at Trinity College Dublin.[1][3] In 1965, he moved to London for research and lived there for at least 20 years.[1] He taught and worked as headmaster at Sevenoaks School, an all-boys school, from 1965 up until about 1991.[1][3] In 1991, McCann gave a tour to Prince Charles and Princess Diana of Wales of the Sevenoaks School.[4] Soon after, McCann accepted a position at St. Paul's British School in São Paulo, Brazil. On 28 February 2000, a maid discovered McCann dead in his apartment São Paulo; he was likely murdered after a sexual encounter with a Black man of unknown identity.[3][4][5]

Family, Action, Information, Rescue (FAIR) and anti-cult activity

McCann first became involved with anti-cultism in 1980 when two sixth-grade students joined the Unification Church in San Francisco, California, while on summer holiday.[6][1] While seeking advice from the Foreign Office about how to get the students home, McCann was connected with FAIR.[1] He and Peter Hullah, Sevenoaks School's chaplain, flew to San Francisco and demanded to speak to the two students, which they were eventually allowed to do. One would return to England to resume his university education, but the other stayed with the Unification Church in the United States.[1][3][7]

In November 1981, McCann created a list of British academics who wished to attend a scientific conference in Seoul, South Korea, called the Tenth International Conference for the Unity of the Sciences.[8] The names became public in an early day motion—which Conservative MP for Gravesend Timothy Brinton motioned for—in the House of Commons. The scholars listed included Professors R. V. Jones, Anthony Flew, J. W. Pringle, and Sir Hans Krebs.[9] Professor Jones, in a letter to The Times (London)'s editor, wrote that he was erroneously put on the list since he refused the last three invitations he received from the International Cultural Foundation, an organization founded by Sun Myung Moon which organized the conferences.[10][11] Others, like Professors Flew and Kenneth Mellanby, attended the conference and discussed the issue of the Unification Church brainwashing British students and sending them to the United States, which the professors believed was not an issue anymore since the US branch of the Unification Church took measures to allow or encourage British students to return to Britain to continue their education and see family.[8]

Throughout 1981–2, McCann headed a public campaign for academics to pressure the Unification Church to return students who interrupted their post-secondary educations to join the Church in the United States. McCann believed that approximately 50 students interrupted their studies to convert and a further 450 Britons were in the United States because of their conversion to the Unification Church.[12]

McCann supported the measures detailed in the Cottrell Report, a report from the European Parliament's Committee on Youth, Culture, Education, Information and Sport with MEP for Bristol Richard Cottrell as rapporteur, released as a working document on 2 April 1984.[13][14] One of the recommendations of the Cottrell Report was requiring new religious movements to report the whereabouts or address of individual members, which some have criticized as infringing on religious freedoms.[15] McCann, however, believed that these proposals were voluntarily on behalf of the new religious movements and were not intended to be legislative.[2]

By 1980 McCann was a member of FAIR. According to Elisabeth Arweck, he also served as FAIR's treasurer.[6] In late 1984, McCann shared FAIR's chairmanship with Lady Daphne Vane, a French woman and an MP.[16][6] In his article in Journal of Contemporary Religion, it states that he was a member of the "FAIR committee" in mid-1986.[2]

Death

On 28 February 2000, a maid named Dirce de Olieveira discovered McCann's body in his apartment in São Paulo, Brazil. According to The Times (London), his death occurred on 26 February 2000.[17] Olieveira found him bounded by the hands and feet on his bed, and he was dressed only in his underwear.[3][4] São Paulo police investigated the death as a murder case. Neighbors and a coffee shop owner identified a Black man McCann had been seeing sexually as a potential suspect; however, this suspect was never identified and the case is still unsolved.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g David Cheal, "Cult Follower," She Magazine (November 1985): 82–3.
  2. ^ a b c M.T.M. Casey McCann, "The British Anti Cult Movement... A View From Within," Journal of Contemporary Religion 3, no. 2 (1986): 6–8.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Ken Foxe, "Teacher was killed in a fit of passion: Police hunt young Black man," The Mirror (London), 1 March 2000.
  4. ^ a b c Phil Dampier, "Gay death mystery of head who met Diana," The People (London), 2 April 2000.
  5. ^ Caoimhe Young, "Principal Victim of Gay Sex Killing: Bizarre death of gay teacher: Headmaster's bruised body found tied up," The Mirror (London), 29 February 2000.
  6. ^ a b c Arweck, Elisabeth (2006). Researching new religious movements : responses and redefinitions (PDF). London: Routledge. p. 113. ISBN 978-1-134-47246-8. OCLC 1144327058.
  7. ^ Religious Affairs Correspondent, "Moonies to send Britons home," The Times (London), 26 June 1981.
  8. ^ a b Times Correspondent, "Professors absolve Moonies," The Times (London), 13 November 1981.
  9. ^ "Academics in Moonie Row," The Times (London), 3 November 1981.
  10. ^ R. V. Jones, "Unification Church," The Times (London), 7 November 1981.
  11. ^ Tim Brinton, "Unification Church," The Times (London), 11 November 1981.
  12. ^ Ian Bradley, "Campaign for return of Moonie students," The Times (London), 11 June 1982.
  13. ^ M.T.M. Casey McCann, "Code of Conduct for the cults," The Times (London), 21 August 1984.
  14. ^ Richard Cottrell, rapporteur, Report on the Activity of New Religious Movements within the European Community, English ed., PE 82.322/fin (Strasburg, Germany: Committee on Youth, Culture, Education, Information and Sport, European Parliament, 1984).
  15. ^ Beryl Garside, "Code for new cults," The Times (London), 3 September 1984.
  16. ^ Anson Shupe and Susan E. Darnell, "Agents of Discord: The North American-European Anticult Connection," paper presented at the 2001 International Conference: The Spiritual Marketplace, Religious Pluralism and Globalization in the 21st Century: The Expanding European Union and Beyond, London: London School of Economics, 21 April 2001.
  17. ^ "Personal Column: Deaths," The Times (London), 16 March 2000.

See also

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