Book influenced sect
BY DAVID LINTON / SUN CHRONICLE STAFF Aug 1, 2000
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ATTLEBORO — Two experts on religions and cults say they expected Rebecca Corneau to refuse to submit to an exam by a medical health professional.
“ It's consistent with what this group has said all along,” said Robert Pardon, a founder of the New England Institute of Religious Research.
Pardon, who was a guardian to the 13 children taken from the fringe religious sect in November, said the group believes God will deliver their babies without the help of medical professionals or midwives.
The group is heavily influenced by the writings of Carol Balizet of the Home in Zion Ministries in Florida, said Pardon, who has read all of the sect's journals seized by authorities.
The Zion Ministries believe that God created children and only prayer was needed for God to deliver the child into the world, said Pardon and his assistant, Judith Barba.
Balizet, 66, is a former nurse who says she was led by God to leave the medical system almost 20 years ago.
A woman who answered the telephone at the ministries offices in Tampa, Fla., hung up when a reporter asked to speak to Balizet.
“ I can tell you she won't be interested in talking to the press,” the woman said.
When asked why, the woman replied:
“ Because she won't. That's the answer. Thank you.”
According to information on a Web site for the ministries, Balizet “ has been involved” in more than 800 “ Zion births” and speaks to various Christian groups throughout the country.
Zion births are home births with no input, assistance or backup from the medical system.
“ I trust God to deliver babies or heal babies. '85 And to look at the medical system as a source of anything good is simply not within my power,” Balizet writes.
Pardon, who has studied various cults and what he termed, “ high-control groups” for 10 years, said the Attleboro sect was heavily influenced in particular by Balizet's book “ Born in Zion” about home birthing and religious philosophy.
Book influenced sect leaders
Assistant District Attorney Walter Shea said the book was read by sect leaders Roland and Jacques Robidoux, who were impressed with its contents.
“ They read it and began to instruct the family on how to live, what to dress like and move away from society and the medical system, even to the point where they stopped wearing glasses,” Shea said.
Shea said he is not familiar with the Home in Zion Ministries, but said investigators believe the Attleboro sect is not “ wired to or connected to any other group.”
He said a midwife who helped deliver one of the children gave them the book when she saw how the family began to live. At the time Jeremiah died, the sect no longer used a midwife, Shea added.
Rebecca Corneau's last child, Jeremiah, suffocated and died because of the lack of medical assistance during a home birth last August, authorities now say.
“ They thought the hand of God would protect the child,” Bristol County District Attorney Paul Walsh said during a news conference on Tuesday.
Rebecca Corneau and her husband David both cited their faith in God and rejection of the medical system during a hearing before Judge Kenneth P. Nasif in Attleboro Juvenile Court on Tuesday.
Balizet has also crossed paths with authorities.
“ I have been blessed to walk through a little tribulation. I have been hauled before magistrates. I was arrested in conjunction with the home birth ministry,” Balizet is quoted as saying on her Web page.
Like the Attleboro sect, Balizet claims she does not believe in celebrating birthdays and is a former Catholic. She has written three novels and books about home birthing, according to her Web page biography.
Pardon, who has talked to current and former sect members in addition to reading their journals, submitted a 20-page report to the court before the care and protection hearings earlier this month.
Pardon and Barba praised the efforts of the state's Department of Social Services and the Bristol County District Attorney's office for taking the children out of the home when they did.
“ If DSS had not moved in when they did, another child could have been dead and all of it would have been justified in the name of God,” Pardon said.
The two experts also praised Judge Nasif for his interest in learning as much as he could about the Attleboro sect before making decisions in the case.
Pardon and Barba said they understood the reasoning of Walsh in trying to have Corneau placed in custody in a secure health facility to have her baby.
“ Obviously, they are very concerned because of the difficulty Rebecca Corneau had with her last pregnancy. They want to protect the child the best way they can,” Barba said.
Both experts said the DSS and Walsh want to avoid another death of a child.
“ The one's who are going to be called on the carpet is DSS. If another child died, the public would say `Where was DSS?',” Pardon said.
Officials for the social service agency say they cannot intervene in a case until a child is born.
DAVID LINTON can be reached at 508-236-0338 or via e-mail at dlinton@thesunchronicle.com.
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