Introduction

The Story
Page 1
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Page 7
Page 8
Page 9

A Few Personal Stories
Francis
Faith
Anne
Silva

Once Upon a Time - Page 7

The Libel Suit

Our over-the-top style, garb that included cloaks and pendants of a cross and a serpent to symbolize healing, also made The Process an easy target for rumors and gossip. And the fact that we were always taking in dogs and now checking out castles in Italy for a sanctuary set off charges of animal sacrifice and "devil worship." It was nonsense, but it made good press.

And one day in 1969, one of those "Aliens Stole My Lunch" tabloid rags had a story in it that the infamous murderer Charles Manson had had something to do with The Process. (Apparently he liked animals, too.) We took no notice at the time. But a couple of years later, a book was published in the United States that drew on those same rumors. And an attorney friend told us that we simply had to file a lawsuit. So we did.

The author of the book promptly fled, rather than even show up to the deposition hearing, leaving the extremely embarrassed publisher to settle as quickly as possible. Existing copies of the book were withdrawn, offending sections were to be removed from any future printings, and a public apology issued.

But the whole affair left a nasty taste in our mouths. And to this day, the story and other rumors float around on the Internet.

In any case, the Sixties were over, and some of us were already heading into our thirties and were ready to move on. Some still wanted to keep it all going – especially Robert de Grimston, the so-called "teacher" of The Process, who had written a number of books and become quite well known in academic and theological circles.

But for others of us, the whole experience had really been about following our dream of a better way of life, founded on the simple universal truth of the love of God and a life lived according to the Golden Rule. We wanted to continue our charitable work, but in a new way.

Next page: The Foundation Faith and the Animals