There's a raging debate in Hamilton, Ont. about just what the Dominion Christian Centre is. But wide agreement on what it's not.
The D.C.C., as it's known, is no ordinary church. No hymns. Every Sunday service begins with a one-hour rock concert - complete with power-vocals, driving guitars and pounding bass. The man on the drums is the pastor, Peter Rigo, who claims he's "on a mission from God."
"When He said to come, He said, 'Drop a plumb-line and establish a people that know Me and that live for Me,'" Rigo said in a 2006 interview.
The pastor's voice drips with disdain and sarcasm when he talks about other churches and how they spend most of their time competing for parishioners.
"And then we compete with the world. Our God is better than yours, our girls give better b--- jobs. That's right, we get laid twice as quick in Christian school. Our God's better than your God," Rigo sermonized, captured by W-FIVE's cameras.
What sets Rigo apart from other churches is his zeal for his version of the truth and his insistence that salvation can be best found through the D.C.C.
"For the most part, church is just a nice outhouse. You simply go once a week, move your conscience bowels, get a little relief and go out and eat like a pig for another seven days. That's why churches mainly stink."
Disallowed expenses
Now the D.C.C. and Peter Rigo are under the microscope for more than just his controversial views and teachings. In December, 2008, following a lengthy audit, the Canada Revenue Agency decided to revoke the church's charitable status - a decision made public in February.
"Our audit revealed serious issues of non-compliance," said the CRA in a news release. "In particular, it was found that the Charity's assets have been misused for the private benefit of members, directors, donors and employees, and that the Charity has issued official donation receipts containing incorrect or false information.
"At the Charity's expense, and unrelated to its charitable programs, improper personal benefits have been provided including numerous personal trips, payments for privately used vehicles, gym memberships, food, lodging, and other unsubstantiated payments."
The regulator found that the D.C.C. had "issued receipts for transactions that do not qualify as gifts, and has failed to properly establish the fair market value of property received which, in several cases, was significantly inflated." The personal benefits provided to pastor Peter Rigo, his wife and key church officials, included a trip to Hawaii and purchases at expensive fashion outlets, such as Gucci and Dolce and Gabbana.
Contacted by W-FIVE, Peter Rigo refused comment. A lawyer for the church referred W FIVE to a statement on the D.C.C.'s website.
"The CRA recently reviewed our books and records and made a determination and issued a Notice of Revocation. We are ministers and rely on our advisors and will continue to do so in this matter. We are currently reviewing our options, including an appeal of the revocation. We believe it is important to obey the laws of the land and we have cooperated in good faith with the Canada Revenue Agency and are committed to continuing to do so as required of us," said the Internet posting.
In an earlier newspaper report, Rigo and his wife were quoted apologizing for "shoddy book-keeping" that led to "errors" and claimed that "funds from donations were properly used and church trips and vacations were not paid by the church."
"As pastors, we understand that there will always be tests of our faith," said the more recent statement.
Divisive faith
For a man who has preached disdain for other churches and strict obedience to God and the Bible, these allegations of impropriety have raised new questions about Peter Rigo and his church. In W-FIVE's original investigation, families of church members came forward to accuse the D.C.C. of being a religious cult.
Lucie and Renato Brun del Re explained to W-FIVE how their daughter, Mirella, drifted towards the D.C.C. and away from her own family. Like many young people from religious families, Mirella had been on a spiritual quest when she first encountered the D.C.C.
"After going through different churches, she came to me and said: 'Mama, I did find the church,' the right one, the true church, she called it," said Lucie Brun del Re.
W-FIVE discovered that the D.C.C. was a popular destination for many young people and families in Hamilton. The worship service included a rock band and fiery sermons by Pastor Peter Rigo - who told W-FIVE he was "on a mission from God."
Rigo never graduated from Bible College, and was kicked out of at least one fellowship of evangelical churches. But none of that diminished the pastor's credibility among his followers.
Rigo's message: "I don't accept what we've called Christianity to date. A lot of teaching goes on in the name of God, very little living. So the standard that I read in a relationship of God and of the Word is, 'if you love me, you'll obey me' -- not 'if you love me, you'll learn about me'."
The Brun Del Res were concerned about the Pastor's concept of obedience and their daughter's dedication to the D.C.C.
Lucie Brun del Re recalled what Mirella told her after she'd joined the D.C.C.
"God is talking to me and is telling me that we're all going to be moving to Hamilton," Lucie Brun del Re repeated to W-FIVE.
She added: "You could see the transformation on her face, like someone was talking for her. So that's when I started to worry that something was wrong -- the way she was thinking, analyzing, talking. And she became more distant."
Mirella's parents began to wonder if their daughter's thoughts were still her own. Her father, Renato, believed his daughter was being brainwashed. "She was fed a lot of information. And when you tend to go to church every day, or close to every day, there's a lot of time when you get indoctrinated."
And the Brun del Res found they weren't alone with those concerns. When W-FIVE publicized a town-hall for anyone dissatisfied with the Dominion Christian Centre, more than 70 people showed up. Almost all said their lives had been negatively affected by the D.C.C. and by Peter Rigo.
Shared and disturbing experiences quickly emerged -- mainly the separation of families.
"Over the space of a year, it was little by little by little. Until she came to a point where she went to my younger children and said: 'I'm sorry, I won't ever see you again,'" said one distraught parent.
Another theme that emerged during the town hall was the complete control that many said Peter Rigo exercised over his congregation.
"And it came to a place where you didn't even know how to function without asking the Pastor -- what should I do? Or, what colour should my hair be? You know, down to stupid things, you needed to ask them about everything," said Sarah Muller, a former member of the D.C.C.
But Mirella Brun del Re told W-FIVE that she wasn't being used or controlled by Peter Rigo. She said that it was her parents, and all of the other concerned families who were being manipulated by "the enemy."
"Who's the enemy? Satan is the enemy. You have the devil who's against everything God is doing," she told W-FIVE.
Direct action
Convinced that their daughter was in trouble, the Brun del Re family contacted American cult expert Mary Alice Chrnalogar.
"They had a very good cause to worry about Mirella. Anybody that's in a cult goes through turmoil. You struggle. You struggle terribly. And I think that any parent should be concerned if they're in a group like this," Chrnalogar told W-FIVE from her home in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Concerned and unable to convince their daughter to leave the D.C.C., the Brun del Res are alleged to have committed a final act of desperation -- and allegedly kidnapped Mirella off of the street.
Mirella told W-FIVE her story. "All of a sudden I realize there's five men that have surrounded me. They're all wearing black coats. Some of them are wearing toques and I'm looking around. I'm like -- oh my gosh, I think I'm going to be robbed or raped, or something horrible is going to happen. I had no idea what was going on. I was just fighting and I was pushed into a van that just pulled up right beside me," said Mirella.
Mirella claimed that she was driven to a cottage in the country where she was held a virtual prisoner for nine days. She said that her family subjected her to an intensive deprogramming regime, showing her videos about cults and reading from Mary Alice Chrnalogar's book "Twisted Scriptures."
At the Brun del Res' request, Mary Alice Chrnalogar agreed to fly to Canada to see if she could help -- but on the condition that Mirella would be free to leave if she wanted to.
Lucie Brun del Re admitted that it didn't go well.
"So after talking to Mirella for four hours, finally Mirella says -- are you finished now? So Mary Alice says, well we're not keeping you. She said, oh, you're not? Okay. So, she took her bag and she started walking out."
Their daughter gone, it seemed that things couldn't get any worse for the Brun del Res. But they did. They were summoned to the Hamilton police station where criminal charges were laid, including kidnapping and forcible confinement. The courts will ultimately decide the guilt of the Brun del Res. The trial has been scheduled for October, 2009.
Mirella told W-FIVE that she understood her parents' motivation.
"I understand what they want. They want that old Mirella back. The one that lived the façade of what religion is and just accepting life as is. And I don't want that life. I want to live true because, now at this point, I've seen behind the curtain. I've seen that there is a real god and I have to live up to what I've seen," she said.
Rigo responds
Mirella's pastor, Peter Rigo, flatly denied any allegations of brainwashing and rejected any descriptions of his church as a cult.
"I think cult is ridiculous," Rigo told W-FIVE.
And when W-FIVE attended the D.C.C., Rigo joked with his followers about their families' concerns.
"I'm talking with the neighbor yesterday and he's like -- if you're a f---ing cult, I'm joining it!" Rigo said in his sermon.
Whether or not the D.C.C. should be called a cult, the new allegations raised by Revenue Canada certainly won't provide assurances to the church's critics that things are running as they should.
Responding to the revocation of their charitable status in their statement, the D.C.C.'s leaders said they "refute the inferences against our church leadership" and called the ordeal "tests of our faith." The D.C.C. also apologized for the language used in the sermon taped by W-FIVE.
"Pastor Peter regrets using the language he did during his sermon ...He was trying to deal with the sexual immorality that is prevalent among young people today and trying to speak the language he hears used by some young people in an effort to impact them. Pastor Peter does not use this language and did so for the shock value and in an effort to get the attention of the people involved in these activities."
In the meantime, the Brun del Res have their own struggles to contend with. They await trial for Mirella's alleged kidnapping, now scheduled for October, 2009. And they still face the possibility of a future without their daughter. Their only hope is that she stays safe and true to herself.
Lucie Brun del Re told W-FIVE: "We all love her. We want the best for her and we hope she finds herself the way God created her."
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