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UNITED KINGDOM. If the International Spiritualist Federation (ISF) thought it could shrug off criticism of its handling of the Mervyn Johnson rape case affair and carry on regardless, it reckoned without the wrath of the Spiritualists’ National Union (SNU), the movement’s leading organisation in the UK. The union has severed its links with the ISF after an 85-year association.

Regular visitors to www.ParanormalReview.com will be familiar with the sorry saga which first broke on this website and which has been followed closely by us ever since (if you are a new visitor, type “Mervyn Johnson” in our search box for the full story). It culminated in website editor Roy Stemman calling on the ISF Executive Committee to take action or resign.

The affair involves a recently-appointed ISF president, Mervyn Johnson (also known as Mervyn Wright) – whose sexual offences against young females resulted in his imprisonment in Sweden – and the failure of the ISF’s Executive Committee to take decisive action to distant themselves and the federation from his despicable actions.

The SNU’s National Executive Committee (NEC) has now added its voice to the growing number of protests. It has just announced “with considerable sadness the severing of its long standing links with the International Spiritualist Federation following a sequence of events spanning almost two years during which concern has mounted over the conduct of the organisation and its officers in relation to its policy, procedures and administration”.

The union, whose headquarters are at Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, doesn’t pull its punches in spelling out exactly why it has taken this momentous decision. The reasons it gives are not confined to the Mervyn Johnson affair, though it was doubtless a catalyst:

The failure of the ISF Executive to terminate Johnson’s membership (after having allowed him to resign from office rather than permanently ending his role)

The manner in which a new president was chosen

The decision of the Executive to hold its 2009 meeting in Sweden just miles from where Johnson carried out his crimes

The manner in which the ISF has conducted its affairs with the SNU (including a challenge by its Executive to the appointment of the SNU representative and the failure to place on its Biennial General Meeting a motion it had submitted)

The administration of the ISF and the running of its Biennial General Meeting

The procedures for nomination and appointment of officers and other executive roles

The presentation of accounts and other issues

All of these concerns led to a motion at the SNU’s June NEC meeting calling for its resignation from the federation.

“The decision to resign was not taken lightly or hastily,” the statement continues. “The SNU has had a long association with the ISF, having been active in its foundation in 1923. However, it was felt that a continuation of affiliation was not in the best interests of the SNU or for Spiritualism generally.”

Explaining why it feels so strongly about the way in which the ISF has been conducting its affairs, the SNU statement adds:

“The UK has a respected, and in many ways envied, position in Spiritualism across the world. It is important to ensure that such a position is maintained. The SNU will continue to be mindful of its leading role in the presentation of the philosophy of Spiritualism and of mediumship of a high standard.”

At its recent Biennial General Meeting, the ISF did – very belatedly – announced that its was banning Mervyn Johnson from ever holding office inthe organisation. Its members also passed a motion that Johnson’s life membership of the federation should be taken away, but so far the ISF has failed to ratify that decision.

The SNU’s departure from the ISF leaves the US-based National Association of Spiritualist Churches as the only national organisation that is a member. Individual and associate membership has also fallen significantly.

STOP PRESS: since this story was posted on 2 July, The Times newspaper has picked up the story and published a report (4 July) headlined Spiritualist world splits over failure to expel Mervyn Wright who raped his patients. The ISF has only itself to blame for this situation and hopefully it will now start to take decisions that show it is in touch with the real world and do not bring Spiritualism into disrepute.

Posted on Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Category: Spiritualism

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