Raëlian leader accuses media of hate campaign
Second day of testimony in libel case against newspaper
MONTREAL • Unable to turn the other cheek like his half-brother Jesus, a selfdescribed prophet who calls himself Raël is taking the Quebec media to court for what he calls their ‘‘campaign of hate’’ against the religious sect he founded in 1973.
Testifying for a second day in a libel suit against Ottawa daily Le Droit, Claude Vorilhon singled out the Quebec press for vicious attacks on his dignity and that of 60,000 Raëlians worldwide.
‘‘I can’t go out alone in Montreal any more,’’ said the 58-year-old, who claims he is the progeny of a French mother and an alien God, that Jesus is his half brother and that he is a prophet like Buddha, Moses and Mohammed.
Mr. Vorilhon is suing Le Droit for $85,000 in damages to his reputation for calling him a ‘‘ swindler’’ in a January, 2003, column.
But this month he also launched court proceedings against The Gazette, La Presse, Le Journal de Montréal and Radio- Canada in a legal quest for legitimacy and respect.
He is seeking to have the court order the media to cease and desist what he views as derisive attacks on him and to recognize the Raëlian faith as a religion.
Mr. Vorilhon blames the media for undermining his proselytizing and discouraging potential followers from joining his faith, which promotes human cloning and practices sensual meditation and masturbation.
He says many powerful and important people, including an African president, contribute to the Raëlian church in secret.
‘‘ It’s easy to see why; it’s the media. [ The contributors] don’t want their reputations sullied,’’ he said. ‘‘ Numerous political and famous people I know meet with me to say ‘ Remember when the …lohim come, I was with you.’ ’’
The …lohim are a technologically advanced race of extraterrestrials Mr. Vorilhon believes created humans in a Jerusalem lab and will come again in 2035.
Mr. Vorilhon, whose primary residence is in Switzerland but who spends two to three months a year in Quebec, says that in 1973 he was visited by his alien God father and whisked away to a planet not in our solar system but still in our galaxy.
There, he says, he learned his mission as a prophet, dined with Jesus and Moses, drank non-alcoholic wine that tasted like his beloved Bourgogne vintage, and had sex with a robot that was the manifestation of his fantasy.
Pressing Mr. Vorilhon for details, Le Droit’s lawyer, Raymond Doray, yesterday asked about the desires of the aliens on the Planëte des …ternelles.
‘‘ Are they heterosexual, are they homosexual, are they bisexual, or is everyone everything?’’ asked Mr. Doré, suddenly cracking up with laughter.
Quebec Superior Court Justice Maurice Laramée suggested a short break in the case.
‘‘ I think Mr. Doré wants a chance to call his travel agent,’’ the judge joked.
Mr. Vorilhon said cloning is the secret to eternal life and lends his support to a company called Clonaid, which in 2003 claimed it had cloned the first human.
Mr. Vorilhon said he never saw the baby girl, Eve, but truly believes Clonaid’s president Brigitte Boisselier that she exists.
It was in the context of this muchpublicized announcement and the lack of any proof to back it that Le Droit’s Denis Gratton called Mr. Vorilhon a swindler.
Yesterday, the newspaper’s publisher, Claude Gagnon, conceded the term was a loaded one, but said it seemed appropriate.
‘‘ I think that if the law allows someone to claim to be a prophet it certainly allows someone to allege the opposite,’’ Mr. Gagnon said.
The case continues today.