Old cult head denies suicide visions

BroadcastNews, September, 1999

The leader of the religious cult, the Magnificat Meal Movement, has denied having visions of a mass suicide at her group's headquarters at Helidon, west of Brisbane, next month.

Police are drafting a safety plan following concerns over reports claiming cult leader Debra Geileskey believes she and her followers will die in a fire on September 9.

Ms Geileskey claims her estranged husband is behind the rumours. "I see a number of things; sometimes they are prophecies and visions of things that will occur," Ms Geileskey said.

"But regarding the latest story in the newspaper about me receiving a message or a vision or anything about the '9th of the 9th, '99',there is no truth in that. I haven't received any messages about that date.

"My husband is making up a prophecy about that, but that's his prophecy and his prophecies never come true, so I am not at all concerned about the prophecies he makes up," he said.

Church warns

The Catholic Church in Queensland is warning followers of the cult to leave.

The priest at Helidon, Father John Ryan, says police will use the church hall as a command post for next month's operation which has all emergency services on alert.

Father Ryan says his advice is for followers to leave.

"I wouldn't say that it's likely to happen but I would certainly say this - that the ingredients for tragedy are there," Father Ryan said.

"Wherever people have a leader who has what would appear to me to be blind allegiance from a group of people who might well do anything she demanded, well there are the ingredients," he said.

There is concern 50 families in Helidon involved in the movement and up to