Latest news with #spiritualleader
Globe and Mail
08-07-2025
- Globe and Mail
Two sexual assault charges against Alberta spiritual leader John de Ruiter stayed by Crown
The Crown has stayed two sexual assault charges against prominent Alberta spiritual leader John de Ruiter, The Globe and Mail has learned. Michelle Davio, a spokesperson with Alberta Crown Prosecution Service, confirmed that one count of sexual assault was stayed in February, and a second count was stayed on Monday. The prosecution service isn't commenting further on the stayed charges because the other charges against Mr. de Ruiter remain before the courts, Ms. Davio said in an e-mailed statement Monday. Mr. de Ruiter, 65, will now face trial on six charges of sexual assault. His wife, Leigh Ann de Ruiter, 66, is also facing six counts of sexual assault in the same allegations, and will face trial at the same time as her husband. Their trial is currently slated for January, and is expected to last more than four months. The sexual assault allegations date back to 2012, and involve adult women who were among Mr. de Ruiter's vast community of followers. Both Mr. and Ms. De Ruiter have pleaded not guilty. Alberta spiritual leader and his wife plead not-guilty to sex assault charges Embattled spiritual leader John De Ruiter selling home as followers continue migration to northern Alberta Mr. de Ruiter's lawyer, Dino Bottos, confirmed that the charges had been stayed, but declined to comment. Mr. de Ruiter, whose given name is Johannes, is the heart of a dedicated community of followers from around the world, for which he is 'the living embodiment of truth.' The group is sometimes called the College of Integrated Philosophy or Oasis. Questions about Mr. de Ruiter's sexual relationships with followers were the focus of a Globe investigation in 2017. He was arrested by Edmonton Police Service officers in 2024, and charged with four counts of sexual assault. At the time of his arrest, police said Mr. de Ruiter had told women among his group that he 'was directed by a spirit to engage in sexual activity with them,' which would 'provide them an opportunity to achieve a state of higher being or spiritual enlightenment.' Mr. and Ms. De Ruiter are currently living under a number of conditions while on bail, including not to have any intimate or explicit images of women involved in the case, and not to share any of the Crown's evidence in the case. Mr. de Ruiter is also barred from contact with women other than his wife, ex-wife and immediate family. Mr. de Ruiter's community had been based in Edmonton, but in recent years has begun migrating to an isolated rural area around Fort Assiniboine, northwest of the city.
RNZ News
05-07-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Dalai Lama hopes to live beyond 130 years, much longer than predicted
By Krishna N. Das , Reuters Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama attends a long-life prayer offering ceremony at the Main Tibetan Temple in McLeod Ganj, near Dharamsala on 5 July, 2025. Photo: AFP / Sanjay Baid The Dalai Lama has said he hopes to live until he is more than 130 years old, two decades longer than his previous prediction, following his assurance to followers that he would reincarnate as the spiritual head of the faith upon his death. The Nobel Peace Prize winner on Saturday (local time) was speaking during a ceremony organised by his followers to offer prayers for his long life, ahead of his 90th birthday on Sunday, and as China insists it will choose his successor. The Dalai Lama told Reuters in December he might live to 110. "I have been able to serve the Buddhadharma (the teachings of Buddhism) and the beings of Tibet so far quite well," he said between prayers, clearing his throat now and then. "And still, I hope to live over 130 years," he said, sparking applause and cheers among his followers. The 14th Dalai Lama, already longest-lived head of Tibetan Buddhism, spent about 90 minutes at the prayers in his temple. The ceremony was attended by thousands of followers from around the world who gathered in the northern Indian hill town of Dharamshala, where he has lived since fleeing Tibet in 1959 in the wake of a failed uprising against Chinese rule. "We have lost our country and we live in exile in India, but I have been able to benefit beings quite a lot. So, living here in Dharamshala, I intend to serve beings and the dharma as much as I can," he said in Tibetan, which was translated simultaneously in English and other languages. China, keen to consolidate its control over Tibet, views the Dalai Lama as a separatist. Beijing insists its leaders would have to approve his successor, in a legacy from imperial times. The Dalai Lama has previously said that he would reincarnate in the "free world" outside China and this week told his followers that the sole authority to recognise his reincarnation rests with his non-profit institution, the Gaden Phodrang Trust. The Dalai Lama is a charismatic figure whose following extends well beyond the millions of Tibetan Buddhists living around the world. He won the 1989 peace prize for what the Nobel committee said was keeping alive the Tibetan cause and seeking genuine autonomy to protect and preserve the region's unique culture, religion and national identity without pressing for independence. At the prayers on Saturday, he sat on a throne before a large statue of the Buddha, with dozens of monks seated in front of him. Marigold garlands hung from pillars as his followers and journalists crowded around the main temple area. Oracles and other figures, shaking in trance, arrived to pay their obeisance to their guru. Monks struck cymbals and played ornate long trumpets in honour of the Dalai Lama and others. The Dalai Lama said he prays daily to benefit all sentient beings and feels he has the blessings of Tibet's patron deity, Avalokitesvara. "Looking at the many prophecies, I feel I have the blessings of Avalokitesvara," he said. "I have done my best so far. At the least, I hope to still live for 30 or 40 years more." His birthday celebrations on Sunday will be attended by senior Indian ministers as well as diplomats from the United States, along with thousands of his devotees. - Reuters
Al Arabiya
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Dalai Lama says he hopes to live for another 40 years
The elderly Dalai Lama on Saturday said that he hopes to live for another 40 years, until he is about 130 years old, days after he sought to allay speculation over his succession by saying he would reincarnate upon his death. The Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader was speaking during a ceremony organized by his followers to offer prayers for his long life, ahead of his 90th birthday on Sunday. The Dalai Lama previously told Reuters in December he might live to 110.
Times
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
Cardinal Vincent Nichols: I won't punt on pope, it's too intimidating
'I feel pretty intimidated by it, frankly.' In less than three days' time, Cardinal Vincent Nichols will be locked inside the Sistine Chapel and must vote on who he wants to elect as the next pope. By the end of the week, there is likely to be a new pontiff. Apart from worrying about who to choose as the next spiritual leader for 1.4 billion Catholics around the world, Nichols, who is Archbishop of Westminster, was also not sure how he would get out of bed at the right time in the morning once a blackout is imposed on all electronic communications between the cardinals and the outside world. 'I'm puzzled as to how I'm going to wake up if they take my phone off
