Was Hill influenced to attack Catholic Church?

Singer Lauren Hill accused Catholic Church hierarchy and clergy of moral corruption, exploitation and abuse.

MSNBC/December 17, 2003
By Jeannette Walls with Ashley Pearson

Was Lauryn Hill's anti-Catholic rant inspired by her controversial "spiritual advisor"? The singer made world-wide headlines after she blasted the church during a concert at the Vatican.

"I'm not here to celebrate, like you, the birth of Christ, but to ask you why you are not in mourning for his death in this place," Hill said. "Holy God has witnessed the corruption of your leadership of the exploitation and abuses which are the minimum that can be said for the clergy."

But a source believes that Hill's comments may have been encouraged - or even scripted - by "Brother Anthony," a man whose teachings have influenced Hill so much that her friends have become concerned.

Hill became close to Brother Anthony three years ago and shortly afterwards, axed her management and others who had helped her become a success. Her next album did not do well. "I had a tape of [Brother Anthony's] teachings," Hill's former bandmate, Michael Pras, told Rolling Stone earlier this year. "It was some real cult sh--. I couldn't believe that this dude was really serious."

Hill's rep didn't return calls for comment. "Like many people who become involved in cults, Lauryn Hill was at a low point in her life when she hooked up with Brother Anthony and she was very vulnerable," cult watcher Rick Ross tells The Scoop. "The question now is whether her speech at the Vatican her own, or, as many people have suggested, under the undue influence of Brother Anthony."