John of God: The Crimes of a Spiritual Healer (2021) s01e02 Episode Script
The Scandal
SCENES OF UNCONVENTIONAL SURGERY AND
REPORTS OF SEXUAL ABUSE MAY BE TRIGGERING
A NETFLIX ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY SERIES
[mysterious music plays]
[man] In 1998,
I started to read some books
about shamanism and about healers.
I had a companion who had a health problem
that wasn't being resolved.
I read a book
about credible miracles happening.
People were receiving miracle healings.
It was about John.
Unfortunately, we all believe,
more or less
what we read.
So, I believed.
Then, when my wife and I
moved to Abadiânia,
one of the posada owners said,
"Let's sit down and have a talk."
"We wanna explain to you,
it's a little different
now that you moved here,
you have to be aware of something:
you have to ask
John's permission for anything."
"If you want to open a shop,
you wanna wear your hair long,
have a barbecue on Sunday,
you need to ask him."
[unsettling music plays]
MICHAEL BAILO
EX-TOUR GUIDE FOR THE HOME
I began to observe,
because I went there every day
at seven in the morning.
I was one of the mediums.
I sat about three chairs away from him.
I noticed the minute the lines came in,
he wasn't at all in a trance or anything.
He was checking out the young girls.
DON IGNATIUS' ROOM
He hand-picked the prettiest young women,
give them special attention
and often invite them to come
for a private session.
It's ready.
You don't have to do a thing.
Just look through it and frame me.
- Don't cut my head off.
- [woman] I see you in there.
Those are the Casa in the background.
[theme music plays]
CURE - FAITH - MEDIUM
SPIRITUAL SURGERY
SILENCE
[mysterious music plays]
[Araújo in Portuguese]
Many people don't believe it,
and there are people like me
who were actually abused.
I know it happened
REJANE ARAÚJO
SURVIVOR
because nobody told me. I was there.
I wasn't the entity.
I didn't feel the energy.
It was John himself.
He put my hand on his chakra,
in his heart.
As far as I can remember,
he started guiding me,
directing me, passing through his chakras.
I can't remember what happened
after he got to the sacral chakra.
I can't remember because I was hypnotized
so when I woke up,
I heard the voice of my entity.
It was screaming.
It was slapping my hand like this,
because I was already touching his penis.
It was screaming
and slapping both of my hands like this.
It was screaming and saying, "Not her!"
How do I explain that to people
who don't know about spirituality?
Who don't live this reality?
Then I asked, "Why me?"
And he said he didn't know why.
[man] I'd often see a woman crying,
people complained, some buzz.
He'd usually call pretty women.
CLODOALDO TURCATO
FORMER ACCOUNTAN
He wouldn't call the wounded or the ugly.
Just pretty women.
Usually without their husbands
or companion.
[guitar music plays]
I'm currently a visual artist.
I've been working
with art for a long time,
and I have an accounting degree.
I went to Abadiânia
due to a stomach disorder.
I had a terrible ulcer.
After two years,
which is the period I stayed there for,
I left completely healed.
If it was the medicine of John,
if it was God or the universe,
I don't know.
I went there for a week.
He asked me to stay for another 15 days
then he asked me
to stay for another month,
so I ended up staying.
I started working
as an accountant for the Home
and then I ended up
working as his personal accountant.
During the first six months, I was amazed.
One day, I was in the office,
and suddenly John arrived.
He sat and began talking to me.
I felt like
I was talking to Michael Jackson
or that the president was giving me
a minute of his attention.
Something like that, you know?
If he told me
to flush my head down the toilet,
maybe I'd do that.
[woman in English] Good morning,
my brothers and sisters.
On behalf of John of God,
we welcome you
to the House of Don Ignatius of Loyola.
[applause]
- [applause fades]
- [guitar music plays]
[man in Portuguese] This is him
incorporating Ignatius of Loyola.
You can see many points of light
falling upon him and nobody else.
This would be a group of entities,
It's what we call
a "phalanx" or "egregore."
This is me giving a lecture.
I didn't have a beard then.
If there's something we can't see here,
it's the quackery
in the psychic sense, you know?
If there are other factors
that complicated his ethical
and moral life,
that's another thing.
But the medium phenomenon,
he has always been authentic. Always.
MEDIUM PHENOMENON
I've lived with him for 20 years.
For most of that time,
MARCELO STODUTO
FORMER VOLUNTEER AT THE HOME
it was the most sublime
and spiritual experience
I could've ever lived through.
I've never had so many emotions
and had never been so touched spiritually
with so many transcendent
and sacred experiences
as the ones then.
At that time,
the work was way more authentic,
more devoted.
It came from the heart.
People would do it for love,
dedication, gratitude.
- Hail!
- Hail!
There wasn't so much commercial
and financial interest as later on.
That intensified when dollars and euros
started circulating in Abadiânia.
[woman in English] You're going to receive
a prescription when you pass the entity.
Please start taking
that medication immediately.
The wooden rosaries
are in the little shop.
[in Portuguese] The rosary is one
of the only memories of this Home.
You should take it and say your prayers.
I suggest you get to know, scientifically,
the work performed
by João Teixeira de Faria.
So get this book at the bookstore,
where you can find fluidified water
and bring it here so the entity
can put even more energy
on this book with its signature.
OFFICE
ARTISANAL TEA
[Bailot in English] While I was there,
what was happening was
this was essentially
a Brazilian phenomenon.
But during this time John
and the posada owners began to cultivate
some of the foreigners that were there.
They were encouraging the foreigners
to go back home
and do a presentation at a local library,
or at a healing resort, or something,
and talk about John and bring people.
This was John's idea: bring foreigners
because they had much more money.
At this point,
I'd picked up a little Portuguese.
I was with the main posada owners.
And so we go through the line
and we get to there
and he says to John in Portuguese,
"This guy would make a good guide."
Immediately, John turns to me and says,
"I'd like you to bring people here."
"Go to your community
where you live and talk about this."
"You have your camera here,
you've taken some film, show everybody."
"I'm giving you permission
to bring people here."
"And you can charge anything you want,
just bring the people."
I'm filled with self-importance.
"Wow, he chose me
out of all these other people."
I was very enthused.
I had seen only good things
and there were very many people there,
not so many foreigners at that point,
but enough,
a couple dozen foreigners were there.
Everybody was enthused and I thought,
"Wow, this is something else.
I want to do this. I want to be a guide."
- [in Portuguese] Here. Heather, please.
- [Heather] Yes, sir.
[in English]
He does not study in university.
He did not study in school,
regular school.
And until today
And even today, he doesn't know how
to fill out a checkbook.
But he has God.
[Machado in Portuguese] In the beginning,
John of God was a popular healer.
Only later, with foreigners
is it that he started to get some fame.
MARIA HELENA MACHADO
HISTORIAN AND JOHN OF GOD'S BIOGRAPHER
[in English] He say you can use
that house, the house is yours.
GREEK VISITORS
You can bring anybody you want to help.
The house here
is universal.
Is for everyone.
We feel that.
[chattering in Portuguese]
One question.
We want to make a donation
[in Portuguese] The Australians
were the first to get there.
They liked it,
and someone started bringing groups.
The most important person was Pellegrino.
This man is the one who found out
and started bringing groups from Europe.
The first book in English
about John of God is his.
[in English] Christ healed just by
just by being in his presence.
John can do the same.
He often says, "What is wrong with you?"
She'll say, "I cannot bend over,
lift my legs, I'm in excruciating pain."
ROBERT PELLEGRINO-ESTRICH
AUTHOR AND GUIDE AT THE HOME
He'll say, "I will not touch you.
Now, bend over."
Then they do.
So you've seen paralyzed people walk?
Oh, yes. Oh, quite.
[woman in Portuguese]
The spiritual treatment offered
by John of God
attracts people from all over the world.
There's heavy security
in the streets of this city
located 70 miles from Brasília,
for the arrival of Oprah Winfrey
HOME OF DON IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA
OPRAH WINFREY
TV HOS
[in English] It was so strong,
I had to sit down.
I thought I was gonna pass out.
[intense music plays]
[Bailot] I had a friend.
He wanted
to invite John to go to a foreign country.
John said,
"You have to meet my requirements."
"What requirements?"
"I'll come with eight,
ten people, we'll fly first class."
"We'll stay in a four-star hotel."
"I'll be allowed
to bring a container full of the pills
and sell them."
"You'll charge people"
I forget what it was, a lot of money,
to see him for the evening.
"And I am gonna keep every penny of it."
[man in Spanish]
There are 5,000 people registered
to see the miraculous Brazilian.
[indistinct commotion]
People are forming a long line.
They are entering the house
in groups of ten,
where John of God awaits.
[man 2] João Teixeira, a spiritual master
was invited by president Alberto Fujimori.
NEW YORK - USA
[Heather in English] Who heals is God,
but we know
that without him
none of this would be possible.
For it is him who unites people
from around the world, around the globe.
LOWER HUTT - NEW ZEALAND
[Kist in Portuguese] I traveled
with medium John to many places,
here and abroad.
The first foreign country we visited
was New Zealand.
So I talked to the entity,
"I can't speak English."
NORBERTO KIS
VOLUNTEER AND HOSTEL OWNER
The entity told me,
"Son, your voice and your heart
are more important than that."
"You talk with your heart."
[in English] When you believe
"I can."
"I have a need to pray more."
"I have a need to see more."
"I have a need to be happy more."
This is important.
Here comes medium John, please.
[Turcato in Portuguese] I picture John
as a great movie actor.
He has a great talent.
He had everything to do good,
but he got lost along the way.
His legacy is
that he's someone who got lost.
Once, there was a girl who was 17 or 18,
she was very pretty.
She was staying
at one of the hostels I used to visit.
She was crying
and saying John had abused her,
that he had tried to touch her.
She was saying that out loud,
so everyone could hear it.
The hostel's owner kept saying,
"Calm down, don't do this."
Her mother was also saying
that she was just confused.
But she said she would go to the police
because John had touched her.
John suddenly showed up.
It took about two minutes.
And he had a really powerful voice.
He said, "You are lying."
He threatened her.
The girl simply disappeared.
She never came back.
John has many flaws:
he's a womanizer,
he's a trouble-maker,
but I've never raped anyone.
I never did.
So you didn't see me
grabbing women in here or did you?
Me? No.
Did you see me touching women?
All right, then. That's it.
I couldn't sleep at night when I heard it.
If I grabbed her and raped her,
I'll have to marry her,
because she's young.
You're gonna have to be my best man.
Do you want me to call the girl
who accused me of grabbing her?
Along with her father and her mother?
- Should we call them?
- No. No need.
- No, don't worry.
- She's sitting right there.
Right on the
So, I want my fellows to forgive me.
The ones who don't believe you
are not your friends.
I'm not a saint.
I have many flaws because I'm a man.
I'm old, but I can still get laid.
Just not here
at the Home of Don Ignatius.
That's it.
[Stoduto] I think that people
who have worked directly
with John at Don Ignatius
and say they've never heard
anything about the assaults
are acting like demagogues.
But the healing didn't stop happening.
People kept getting
great benefits from it.
Despite hearing about one or two cases,
we never thought,
"Now things went downhill."
"And everything that happens there
is fake,
quackery or mysticism."
[Bailot in English] When John sits there,
supposedly incorporating,
and says to everyone in the room,
"You can't open your eyes.
Keep your eyes closed."
Most people in that room
have their eyes closed,
they don't see what's happening
in front of everybody.
Even people standing in the line.
He molests women right there in the line.
She goes up to him, he takes her hand,
he puts it down in his pants.
He's had an ejaculation,
her hand comes up with semen on it.
[in Portuguese] and lead us
not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil
Father Almighty,
Creator of Heaven and Earth,
and Jesus Christ, His only son our Lord
[Bailot in English] My two friends
that had been helping me
became afraid.
They went through the line,
talked to John.
He said, "No, this is a lie.
Nobody is doing this."
"If anybody's doing it, it's the entity."
Everybody got really confused.
"The entity's doing this? Wow!"
"You're not sure what's going on there."
[Turcato in Portuguese]
The feeling I had was
I had hopes that something would be done
at some point.
But I couldn't do anything
to him by myself.
He was too dangerous. He is too dangerous.
His goons, his body guards,
would say stuff
So people would hear it
and feel intimidated.
I would expect nothing else
from a man like him.
And people from the city
who didn't like John,
said they'd rather be silent
than go against him.
But there was talk about murders,
extortion, threats
SILENCE IS A PRAYER
[Bailot in English]
Then other stories started to come out.
I asked this posada owner
that does all the translations.
"I don't know anything about this."
I asked other people. "Oh, no."
People offer ideas.
They say, "Maybe it's some
weird healing technique."
"Maybe the only way
he could cure her was by that."
They all were justifying it.
And I'd say, "No, man, this is serious."
"Something bad's happening here."
I have, at this point, 40 people
who have contracted with me
to pick them up at the airport,
so I'm thinking,
"I can't bring these people here.
In good conscience I can't."
So I wrote to them.
I said,
"Sorry, I believe
there's criminal activity here."
"John's a fraud.
In good conscience, I can't bring you."
The e-mail ended up back
with this posada owner.
So he showed up very early one morning
with this in his hand, very angry,
"You don't understand one thing:
Here in Abadiânia,
it costs 300 reais for a man to pay
to murder another person."
At that point I stopped talking to him.
My wife and I discussed it and we moved
away from Abadiânia a week later.
[man] It's rare for Mr. Faria
to do interviews for a good reason.
He has a lot to hide.
There is a big business
around your spirit here.
- Is this more about money than
- Were these questions on the list?
- Do you think it's fair to ask?
- I don't think we're going into
Let me ask you, have you ever
sexually assaulted your followers?
[woman in Portuguese]
[John]
[man in English] Perhaps realizing
his ungodly comments
were bad for business,
he returned demanding to see our tape.
[in Portuguese] I want to watch because
I don't know what you have recorded.
[in English] He wants
to see what you have recorded.
- [man] No.
- [in Portuguese] No, I will watch it.
I didn't curse at you.
You're a professional.
[in English] No, please don't.
[pleasant piano music plays]
[Mannelli in Portuguese] My mom
recovered from her surgery
and she wanted to go back there
because had told her, "You'll be cured
and you will return to thank me."
So we went.
On the first day, we went to the Home,
we had an appointment.
We thanked him,
told him we'd return to thank him,
that my mother was healed
ANDREA MANNELLI
BUSINESS MANAGER
My dad was really considering
making a donation
to help the Home
with whatever they needed.
On the second day,
one of the girls who was in our group,
when the session was over,
she asked me
to follow her to the restroom.
I went with her and she said,
"Hey, I wanted to ask you something."
"Has John ever done anything to you?"
I was a little bit surprised
by that question.
I said, "What do you mean?
I don't get it."
And she asked,
"Has he ever done something to you?"
"Has he called you to a private session?"
"Did he abuse you
in that private session?"
[menacing strings play]
I was shocked when she told me.
I said, "What?"
It was like I'd fallen
into a hole in the ground
because at that moment
I understood what was happening there.
Right there
I started feeling a great pain.
I felt extremely outraged.
I felt extremely disappointed.
How could I fall for that story?
That lie, when it was so obvious?
So, I went back to the Home.
I went back there to talk to him.
I knocked on his door
and tried talking to him.
He wouldn't open the door,
but I knocked until he did.
When he opened it, I confronted him.
I pointed my finger to him and said,
"You're a pig, you're a piece of shit,
you're a son of a bitch."
"How could you do this?"
So, he started calling his assistants,
his henchmen, started yelling.
When I saw his men were armed,
I realized I was in danger, so I left.
[Stoduto] These cases
have been going on for years.
It's a fact that many people knew.
But people wouldn't report him
for many reasons.
Or they wouldn't report him
because of interest.
"I need to keep my posada, my tour group."
"I need this. I need that."
So it kept going.
[Turcato] Mr. John used to pay us weekly.
Payments were never overdue or anything.
We'd count the money
and put it in trash bags.
Mr. John would get the bags
and stuff them in his ceiling.
We'd get 25, 30, 40,
60 thousand, depending on the week.
He'd take everything.
He was controlling.
Nobody could touch his money.
I think he's a classic gangster.
[Bailot in English] The posada owners,
not all of them,
but quite a few of the posada owners,
were instructed to tell John every day
about troublemakers,
people questioning what was happening,
about rich people.
The rich people
were marked from the beginning.
He'd say, "I know you got stomach cancer."
"You're gonna need extreme help."
"What if God is"
"I'm a poor man, but I love crystals,
I've been collecting them all my life."
"I've got a crystal that'll cure
your stomach cancer."
"How much is it?"
One man from South Africa,
while I lived there, paid 50,000 dollars,
for a crystal this big.
John showed up
over a period of two or three months
with six brand-new cars
and pick-up trucks.
Brand-new. Each one different.
He always would come in the morning
with two or three huge,
enormous pistoleros,
because he alleged somebody
had tried to assassinate him.
These guys had pistols.
[John in Portuguese]
This gentleman wanted to buy land
to build a place that would become
a posada to Americans.
I didn't ask for anything.
How much did he say
he was going to pay for that lot, Ricardo?
[in English] How much did Gary
offer medium John for the land?
[in Portuguese] 220,000 dollars.
[Heather in English] He gave you
the crystal bed,
which is 4,000 dollars, for cheap.
Had given you as part of the deal.
But he feels that he is
made
been taken advantage of.
[man] Who's that?
[Heather] Medium John.
[indistinct]
[John in Portuguese]
You can shove it up your ass.
Well, when I'm not here,
I'll do it as well.
And everyone get the hell out of here
because I'm not a bum! You are!
[man in English] No. John, over and over
you have told me half lies.
You told me I could work in your room.
[in Portuguese] It's how it's gonna be.
Have a seat. Sit down.
Please sit down. Sit.
- [in Portuguese] Sit down, then.
Sit down. Sit. What are you thinking?
- You're screaming. Sit down.
- No, don't.
[Heather in English]
Gary, please, sit down.
Sit down, please.
Medium John will sit down.
He doesn't need to yell at me.
[Turcato in Portuguese]
And then came the extortion.
Hostels had to pay a percentage to John.
Each hostel would pay
a minimum fee per month.
There were almost 50 hostels.
Also taxi drivers had to pay
half their wages to drive around there.
TAXI TO DON IGNATIUS
People who brought tour groups
also needed John's permission to do it.
This permission was basically payment.
The only embarrassing thing
is that on payday,
if people didn't have money,
I had to tell Claudio, the Home's manager.
And he'd deal with it.
How he'd do that?
The money always came.
[in English] During this time,
John had Abadiânia completely in his fist.
[Turcato in Portuguese]
He'd welcome politicians, famous people,
artists, police officers, police chiefs
He did have contact
with the dark side of the power.
[Stoduto] If I am anonymous,
I am a common rapist.
I am just a random offender.
If I'm a big celebrity,
and have people
from the highest levels of society,
kneeling before me and kissing my hand,
it won't be that easy to say
and prove that I'm a rapist.
That's obvious.
You can deceive people for a year or two,
but for 24 years in the same place?
That's not possible.
You can't deceive people for 41 years.
Around four or five billion people
being deceived for 44 years?
To be on this mission for 48 years
deceiving people is improbable.
For a year or two, but for 55?
but for 60 years deceiving people
in various countries,
in all of Brazil's state capitals
It's difficult.
[guitar music plays]
[man] I was waiting for you.
- [man 2] Good morning.
- Good morning.
About our João Teixeira de Faria, right?
ZÉ TELIM
JOHN OF GOD'S FRIEND
Our John of God, right?
I like him a lot.
A very good person, very noble.
He helped a lot of people here in Itapaci.
I've known him since he was a kid.
He got very rich.
He entered the mining business.
He used to buy gold and emeralds here.
I think spiritualism
can do people no good.
What made him money were the gemstones
and the rich people followed him.
Let me tell you something:
John is a really powerful man.
He is a tough guy.
[woman] Here everybody knew him
as John from Yucca.
John from Yucca.
And she worked a lot, his mother.
She was a hard worker.
SEBASTIANA ALVES
JOHN OF GOD'S FORMER NANNY
She worked as a dyer.
He stayed with me.
With time, I heard
that he had become famous.
He was famous.
I saw him on TV in São Paulo
and I said, "My son's really famous."
"He's doing surgeries."
[man] I met John when he was a little boy.
We used to hang around together.
Party together.
Always going to the red-light district,
me and him.
LINDOLFO BENTO DE MACEDO
JOHN OF GOD'S FRIEND
Hi, my friend! Excuse me.
- [man] Come to the kitchen.
- How are you?
- How are you?
- He's Pintinho, a pioneer in Itapaci.
Alleluia.
When he was young, we grew up together
because they used to live here.
We used to hang out here,
play by the river.
We were really close friends.
When he grew up,
he wouldn't care about us anymore.
PAULO PINTO
JOHN OF GOD'S FRIEND
Rich people don't even look
at poor people. They don't.
They just care about themselves.
They just want more and more.
When clients come here
feeling unwell or something,
I put my hand on their heads,
like this, and say,
"God, our Father,
who is powerful and good."
"Give strength to those
going through hardships."
"Give light to those seeking the truth."
"And put into men's hearts compassion."
And put into men's hearts
compassion and kindness.
God.
[guitar music playing]
[Machado] He has always been
a very ambitious man.
In the beginning, he said that
he didn't have a commitment
to the spiritual world
so he'd feel those things and heal,
but he wanted money.
After that, he'd play pool.
Mr. John has always been a party lover.
He liked to dance.
He got married many times.
He had children from different mothers.
He was a socialite.
[woman] We're sailing through the river
This is the Furnas Dam in Minaçu, Goiás.
We're accompanied by
the honorable mayor of this city.
Turn to the camera.
Who's there?
[woman] And my distinguished husband,
João Teixeira de Faria.
[John] This mission is not easy.
My fellows think
that this homemade medicine
has made me a fortune.
"John is rich because he takes it
from the Home of Don Ignatius."
No, João Teixeira is a miner.
I'm an adventurous miner.
[upbeat music plays]
[Machado] He used to wander around.
He was a wanderer.
During that time, he went to Serra Pelada.
1980s
SERRA PELADA - PARÁ
Then he became a partner
of other mines in Goiás
and started investing in land.
He became a farmer.
[John] I'm not on this mission
to get money, fellows.
It's because I have faith
in God that I'll thrive.
That's what I want.
The day I think about making money
I want the Eternal Father
to turn my whole body into leper.
Lord, may your will be done in my life.
[Mannelli] Looking back
at some elements now,
I can see
there was something weird about it.
When he locked the door,
that called my attention.
But I didn't question him.
Then he asked me
if I was wearing something metallic.
I asked him, "Do you mean prosthetics
or something like that?"
He said, "No, are you wearing any metal?"
I said I had earrings on,
a ring, something like that.
He asked me if I was wearing a bra.
I said, "Yes."
And he said, "You have to take it off,
because I'll do a cleansing
and you can't have
any metal on your body."
The process started
with psychological abuse.
He begins by telling you
a bunch of things like,
"You will heal your mother."
"Do you want to heal your mother?"
"If you want to heal your mother,
you have to cooperate."
"Because if you don't do what I tell you,
your mother will die."
Then that man, who's almost six feet tall,
obese, rude, screaming at you,
asking you to do something.
So you don't question and say,
"No, I'm not doing it."
You think it's weird,
because he starts violating your body,
so you say to yourself,
"Something doesn't add up."
So at first,
when he started abusing me,
I started crying.
When I started crying, he asked me,
"Do you want your mom to die?"
Then he started yelling,
"Do you want your mom to die?"
That left me in a difficult position
and I thought,
"No, I don't want her to die."
"So you have to cooperate,
otherwise she'll die."
"And you'll be responsible for that
because you can heal your mom."
Every time that he would touch me,
I'd cry.
And every time I'd cry,
my mom and dad would listen outside.
So his cruelty has no limits.
He's capable of raping the daughter
of a couple
who were sitting outside listening,
as if it were something ordinary.
With no remorse whatsoever.
He steals away much more than your faith.
He steals a lot of things,
along with your faith.
He intimidated me.
He threatened me.
He said I would be responsible
for my mother's death.
Who in good conscience
would wanna bear this responsibility?
Who would wanna pay the price
to see if it's true or not?
If he really has that power or not?
I wasn't willing to.
[Wagner] In September, someone called me
and showed me the documents
and said, "This has been published"
JARDEL WAGNER
VOLUNTEER AT THE HOME
"and the company is already preparing
a news story to crush him
and the Home of Don Ignatius."
"So I'm passing it on to you
and you know what to do."
So I came into the room,
sat down with him, and he said,
"Explain everything to me."
I said, "I got a call from someone."
"They said Globo Network
is preparing a report against you."
And he said,
"What do you think I should do?"
I said, "Look, you have to prepare.
Get a good lawyer."
He said, "No."
He said,
"Don't leave me. Stay with me."
DECEMBER 7, 2018
Today we're hearing for the first time
some statements
about the other side of John of God.
We've heard ten women who felt
sexually abused by the medium.
When I watched Bial, the TV show,
and I saw those women
giving their testimonies,
and I beside Marcia, my wife.
I see myself in them.
I couldn't say I was relieved
because it wasn't a relief.
I felt pain.
[reporter] John of God.
This was one of the most spoken names
over the weekend in Brazilian
and international media.
[reporter 2] Horrendous stories
from many places in the world.
[reporter 3] The victims state
that they were sexually assaulted
by the medium known as John of God.
More than 80 women have come forward
to talk about the sexual abuse
they allegedly suffered
by the medium João Teixeira de Faria.
That news report was a shock to everyone.
The Home always welcomed people.
We'd never seen anything that was said.
We'd never witnessed it.
I've never seen anything myself
and suddenly we came across
that huge news report.
I thought the problem
would be solved soon.
But on Saturday, things escalated.
ANGELA HOMERCHER
VOLUNTEER AT THE HOME
Things started to get bigger.
As hours went by, the news got worse.
Investigations suggest that the abuses
may have started in the '80s.
It's still impossible
to determine the total number of victims
in Brazil and also abroad.
[woman] According to the victims,
they were chosen by the medium
to see him in his room, unescorted.
I won't say I didn't believe it,
but I had doubts.
I had an internal conflict.
Like, what's the truth? Is it a lie?
I've never seen anything.
I've never witnessed anything.
How come in 25 years of the Home,
practically living there
for the past ten years,
I had never seen anything?
[Wagner] The night before, he called me.
That night I stayed with him.
In the morning, he made a decision.
He said, "Let's do this."
"Can you take me?" I said, "Sure, sir."
"Take me, and bring me back."
I said, "Sure. It's a pleasure."
I drove there
and the press was following us.
[crowd clamoring]
Calm down.
[Kist] João Teixeira de Faria,
John of God.
The day he got there,
he was holding on like this.
Many people around him.
It was brutal.
It was the most desperate look
I've seen in medium John.
[crowd clamoring]
There ain't no bums here!
I thank God for being here.
I'm still John of God.
But I want to observe the Brazilian law.
I'm in the hands of Brazilian law.
John of God is still alive.
May God's peace be with you.
[Wagner] We were with him here.
He gave me the mic
and he asked me to take him inside.
He and I got inside holding hands.
And walked towards the armchair,
where you could see
the statue of Saint Rita.
He asked me to take the statue
and put it on the armchair.
He also talked to some people.
He said some words to them
and said that he was giving
this mission to Saint Rita.
Then he looked at me and said,
"Now you can take me from here."
[crowd clamoring]
- Mr. John!
- A little word, John!
Are you innocent?
I'm innocent.
[Wagner] I was hurt
by the cameras hitting my back, my legs.
And I was escorting and defending him.
People would punch and kick the car
so I drove slowly not to hurt anyone
and then I left.
I hit the gas as hard as I could,
but when I looked back,
I saw two cars were chasing us.
When I made this U-turn, he asked,
"Where are they?"
I looked and said, "Right there."
Both cars were coming this way.
He said, "Faster."
I looked up to the sky and said,
"God will guide me."
"I don't know what else to do."
Then I didn't see anything else.
THANK YOU, ABADIÂNIA
[woman] The police went to
at least 20 different locations
looking for the spiritual leader.
He's now considered to be on the run.
IF YOU KNOW A VICTIM OF VIOLENCE OR ABUSE
AND NEED HELP TO FIND RESOURCES
VISIT WWW.WANNATALKABOUTIT.COM
REPORTS OF SEXUAL ABUSE MAY BE TRIGGERING
A NETFLIX ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY SERIES
[mysterious music plays]
[man] In 1998,
I started to read some books
about shamanism and about healers.
I had a companion who had a health problem
that wasn't being resolved.
I read a book
about credible miracles happening.
People were receiving miracle healings.
It was about John.
Unfortunately, we all believe,
more or less
what we read.
So, I believed.
Then, when my wife and I
moved to Abadiânia,
one of the posada owners said,
"Let's sit down and have a talk."
"We wanna explain to you,
it's a little different
now that you moved here,
you have to be aware of something:
you have to ask
John's permission for anything."
"If you want to open a shop,
you wanna wear your hair long,
have a barbecue on Sunday,
you need to ask him."
[unsettling music plays]
MICHAEL BAILO
EX-TOUR GUIDE FOR THE HOME
I began to observe,
because I went there every day
at seven in the morning.
I was one of the mediums.
I sat about three chairs away from him.
I noticed the minute the lines came in,
he wasn't at all in a trance or anything.
He was checking out the young girls.
DON IGNATIUS' ROOM
He hand-picked the prettiest young women,
give them special attention
and often invite them to come
for a private session.
It's ready.
You don't have to do a thing.
Just look through it and frame me.
- Don't cut my head off.
- [woman] I see you in there.
Those are the Casa in the background.
[theme music plays]
CURE - FAITH - MEDIUM
SPIRITUAL SURGERY
SILENCE
[mysterious music plays]
[Araújo in Portuguese]
Many people don't believe it,
and there are people like me
who were actually abused.
I know it happened
REJANE ARAÚJO
SURVIVOR
because nobody told me. I was there.
I wasn't the entity.
I didn't feel the energy.
It was John himself.
He put my hand on his chakra,
in his heart.
As far as I can remember,
he started guiding me,
directing me, passing through his chakras.
I can't remember what happened
after he got to the sacral chakra.
I can't remember because I was hypnotized
so when I woke up,
I heard the voice of my entity.
It was screaming.
It was slapping my hand like this,
because I was already touching his penis.
It was screaming
and slapping both of my hands like this.
It was screaming and saying, "Not her!"
How do I explain that to people
who don't know about spirituality?
Who don't live this reality?
Then I asked, "Why me?"
And he said he didn't know why.
[man] I'd often see a woman crying,
people complained, some buzz.
He'd usually call pretty women.
CLODOALDO TURCATO
FORMER ACCOUNTAN
He wouldn't call the wounded or the ugly.
Just pretty women.
Usually without their husbands
or companion.
[guitar music plays]
I'm currently a visual artist.
I've been working
with art for a long time,
and I have an accounting degree.
I went to Abadiânia
due to a stomach disorder.
I had a terrible ulcer.
After two years,
which is the period I stayed there for,
I left completely healed.
If it was the medicine of John,
if it was God or the universe,
I don't know.
I went there for a week.
He asked me to stay for another 15 days
then he asked me
to stay for another month,
so I ended up staying.
I started working
as an accountant for the Home
and then I ended up
working as his personal accountant.
During the first six months, I was amazed.
One day, I was in the office,
and suddenly John arrived.
He sat and began talking to me.
I felt like
I was talking to Michael Jackson
or that the president was giving me
a minute of his attention.
Something like that, you know?
If he told me
to flush my head down the toilet,
maybe I'd do that.
[woman in English] Good morning,
my brothers and sisters.
On behalf of John of God,
we welcome you
to the House of Don Ignatius of Loyola.
[applause]
- [applause fades]
- [guitar music plays]
[man in Portuguese] This is him
incorporating Ignatius of Loyola.
You can see many points of light
falling upon him and nobody else.
This would be a group of entities,
It's what we call
a "phalanx" or "egregore."
This is me giving a lecture.
I didn't have a beard then.
If there's something we can't see here,
it's the quackery
in the psychic sense, you know?
If there are other factors
that complicated his ethical
and moral life,
that's another thing.
But the medium phenomenon,
he has always been authentic. Always.
MEDIUM PHENOMENON
I've lived with him for 20 years.
For most of that time,
MARCELO STODUTO
FORMER VOLUNTEER AT THE HOME
it was the most sublime
and spiritual experience
I could've ever lived through.
I've never had so many emotions
and had never been so touched spiritually
with so many transcendent
and sacred experiences
as the ones then.
At that time,
the work was way more authentic,
more devoted.
It came from the heart.
People would do it for love,
dedication, gratitude.
- Hail!
- Hail!
There wasn't so much commercial
and financial interest as later on.
That intensified when dollars and euros
started circulating in Abadiânia.
[woman in English] You're going to receive
a prescription when you pass the entity.
Please start taking
that medication immediately.
The wooden rosaries
are in the little shop.
[in Portuguese] The rosary is one
of the only memories of this Home.
You should take it and say your prayers.
I suggest you get to know, scientifically,
the work performed
by João Teixeira de Faria.
So get this book at the bookstore,
where you can find fluidified water
and bring it here so the entity
can put even more energy
on this book with its signature.
OFFICE
ARTISANAL TEA
[Bailot in English] While I was there,
what was happening was
this was essentially
a Brazilian phenomenon.
But during this time John
and the posada owners began to cultivate
some of the foreigners that were there.
They were encouraging the foreigners
to go back home
and do a presentation at a local library,
or at a healing resort, or something,
and talk about John and bring people.
This was John's idea: bring foreigners
because they had much more money.
At this point,
I'd picked up a little Portuguese.
I was with the main posada owners.
And so we go through the line
and we get to there
and he says to John in Portuguese,
"This guy would make a good guide."
Immediately, John turns to me and says,
"I'd like you to bring people here."
"Go to your community
where you live and talk about this."
"You have your camera here,
you've taken some film, show everybody."
"I'm giving you permission
to bring people here."
"And you can charge anything you want,
just bring the people."
I'm filled with self-importance.
"Wow, he chose me
out of all these other people."
I was very enthused.
I had seen only good things
and there were very many people there,
not so many foreigners at that point,
but enough,
a couple dozen foreigners were there.
Everybody was enthused and I thought,
"Wow, this is something else.
I want to do this. I want to be a guide."
- [in Portuguese] Here. Heather, please.
- [Heather] Yes, sir.
[in English]
He does not study in university.
He did not study in school,
regular school.
And until today
And even today, he doesn't know how
to fill out a checkbook.
But he has God.
[Machado in Portuguese] In the beginning,
John of God was a popular healer.
Only later, with foreigners
is it that he started to get some fame.
MARIA HELENA MACHADO
HISTORIAN AND JOHN OF GOD'S BIOGRAPHER
[in English] He say you can use
that house, the house is yours.
GREEK VISITORS
You can bring anybody you want to help.
The house here
is universal.
Is for everyone.
We feel that.
[chattering in Portuguese]
One question.
We want to make a donation
[in Portuguese] The Australians
were the first to get there.
They liked it,
and someone started bringing groups.
The most important person was Pellegrino.
This man is the one who found out
and started bringing groups from Europe.
The first book in English
about John of God is his.
[in English] Christ healed just by
just by being in his presence.
John can do the same.
He often says, "What is wrong with you?"
She'll say, "I cannot bend over,
lift my legs, I'm in excruciating pain."
ROBERT PELLEGRINO-ESTRICH
AUTHOR AND GUIDE AT THE HOME
He'll say, "I will not touch you.
Now, bend over."
Then they do.
So you've seen paralyzed people walk?
Oh, yes. Oh, quite.
[woman in Portuguese]
The spiritual treatment offered
by John of God
attracts people from all over the world.
There's heavy security
in the streets of this city
located 70 miles from Brasília,
for the arrival of Oprah Winfrey
HOME OF DON IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA
OPRAH WINFREY
TV HOS
[in English] It was so strong,
I had to sit down.
I thought I was gonna pass out.
[intense music plays]
[Bailot] I had a friend.
He wanted
to invite John to go to a foreign country.
John said,
"You have to meet my requirements."
"What requirements?"
"I'll come with eight,
ten people, we'll fly first class."
"We'll stay in a four-star hotel."
"I'll be allowed
to bring a container full of the pills
and sell them."
"You'll charge people"
I forget what it was, a lot of money,
to see him for the evening.
"And I am gonna keep every penny of it."
[man in Spanish]
There are 5,000 people registered
to see the miraculous Brazilian.
[indistinct commotion]
People are forming a long line.
They are entering the house
in groups of ten,
where John of God awaits.
[man 2] João Teixeira, a spiritual master
was invited by president Alberto Fujimori.
NEW YORK - USA
[Heather in English] Who heals is God,
but we know
that without him
none of this would be possible.
For it is him who unites people
from around the world, around the globe.
LOWER HUTT - NEW ZEALAND
[Kist in Portuguese] I traveled
with medium John to many places,
here and abroad.
The first foreign country we visited
was New Zealand.
So I talked to the entity,
"I can't speak English."
NORBERTO KIS
VOLUNTEER AND HOSTEL OWNER
The entity told me,
"Son, your voice and your heart
are more important than that."
"You talk with your heart."
[in English] When you believe
"I can."
"I have a need to pray more."
"I have a need to see more."
"I have a need to be happy more."
This is important.
Here comes medium John, please.
[Turcato in Portuguese] I picture John
as a great movie actor.
He has a great talent.
He had everything to do good,
but he got lost along the way.
His legacy is
that he's someone who got lost.
Once, there was a girl who was 17 or 18,
she was very pretty.
She was staying
at one of the hostels I used to visit.
She was crying
and saying John had abused her,
that he had tried to touch her.
She was saying that out loud,
so everyone could hear it.
The hostel's owner kept saying,
"Calm down, don't do this."
Her mother was also saying
that she was just confused.
But she said she would go to the police
because John had touched her.
John suddenly showed up.
It took about two minutes.
And he had a really powerful voice.
He said, "You are lying."
He threatened her.
The girl simply disappeared.
She never came back.
John has many flaws:
he's a womanizer,
he's a trouble-maker,
but I've never raped anyone.
I never did.
So you didn't see me
grabbing women in here or did you?
Me? No.
Did you see me touching women?
All right, then. That's it.
I couldn't sleep at night when I heard it.
If I grabbed her and raped her,
I'll have to marry her,
because she's young.
You're gonna have to be my best man.
Do you want me to call the girl
who accused me of grabbing her?
Along with her father and her mother?
- Should we call them?
- No. No need.
- No, don't worry.
- She's sitting right there.
Right on the
So, I want my fellows to forgive me.
The ones who don't believe you
are not your friends.
I'm not a saint.
I have many flaws because I'm a man.
I'm old, but I can still get laid.
Just not here
at the Home of Don Ignatius.
That's it.
[Stoduto] I think that people
who have worked directly
with John at Don Ignatius
and say they've never heard
anything about the assaults
are acting like demagogues.
But the healing didn't stop happening.
People kept getting
great benefits from it.
Despite hearing about one or two cases,
we never thought,
"Now things went downhill."
"And everything that happens there
is fake,
quackery or mysticism."
[Bailot in English] When John sits there,
supposedly incorporating,
and says to everyone in the room,
"You can't open your eyes.
Keep your eyes closed."
Most people in that room
have their eyes closed,
they don't see what's happening
in front of everybody.
Even people standing in the line.
He molests women right there in the line.
She goes up to him, he takes her hand,
he puts it down in his pants.
He's had an ejaculation,
her hand comes up with semen on it.
[in Portuguese] and lead us
not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil
Father Almighty,
Creator of Heaven and Earth,
and Jesus Christ, His only son our Lord
[Bailot in English] My two friends
that had been helping me
became afraid.
They went through the line,
talked to John.
He said, "No, this is a lie.
Nobody is doing this."
"If anybody's doing it, it's the entity."
Everybody got really confused.
"The entity's doing this? Wow!"
"You're not sure what's going on there."
[Turcato in Portuguese]
The feeling I had was
I had hopes that something would be done
at some point.
But I couldn't do anything
to him by myself.
He was too dangerous. He is too dangerous.
His goons, his body guards,
would say stuff
So people would hear it
and feel intimidated.
I would expect nothing else
from a man like him.
And people from the city
who didn't like John,
said they'd rather be silent
than go against him.
But there was talk about murders,
extortion, threats
SILENCE IS A PRAYER
[Bailot in English]
Then other stories started to come out.
I asked this posada owner
that does all the translations.
"I don't know anything about this."
I asked other people. "Oh, no."
People offer ideas.
They say, "Maybe it's some
weird healing technique."
"Maybe the only way
he could cure her was by that."
They all were justifying it.
And I'd say, "No, man, this is serious."
"Something bad's happening here."
I have, at this point, 40 people
who have contracted with me
to pick them up at the airport,
so I'm thinking,
"I can't bring these people here.
In good conscience I can't."
So I wrote to them.
I said,
"Sorry, I believe
there's criminal activity here."
"John's a fraud.
In good conscience, I can't bring you."
The e-mail ended up back
with this posada owner.
So he showed up very early one morning
with this in his hand, very angry,
"You don't understand one thing:
Here in Abadiânia,
it costs 300 reais for a man to pay
to murder another person."
At that point I stopped talking to him.
My wife and I discussed it and we moved
away from Abadiânia a week later.
[man] It's rare for Mr. Faria
to do interviews for a good reason.
He has a lot to hide.
There is a big business
around your spirit here.
- Is this more about money than
- Were these questions on the list?
- Do you think it's fair to ask?
- I don't think we're going into
Let me ask you, have you ever
sexually assaulted your followers?
[woman in Portuguese]
[John]
[man in English] Perhaps realizing
his ungodly comments
were bad for business,
he returned demanding to see our tape.
[in Portuguese] I want to watch because
I don't know what you have recorded.
[in English] He wants
to see what you have recorded.
- [man] No.
- [in Portuguese] No, I will watch it.
I didn't curse at you.
You're a professional.
[in English] No, please don't.
[pleasant piano music plays]
[Mannelli in Portuguese] My mom
recovered from her surgery
and she wanted to go back there
because had told her, "You'll be cured
and you will return to thank me."
So we went.
On the first day, we went to the Home,
we had an appointment.
We thanked him,
told him we'd return to thank him,
that my mother was healed
ANDREA MANNELLI
BUSINESS MANAGER
My dad was really considering
making a donation
to help the Home
with whatever they needed.
On the second day,
one of the girls who was in our group,
when the session was over,
she asked me
to follow her to the restroom.
I went with her and she said,
"Hey, I wanted to ask you something."
"Has John ever done anything to you?"
I was a little bit surprised
by that question.
I said, "What do you mean?
I don't get it."
And she asked,
"Has he ever done something to you?"
"Has he called you to a private session?"
"Did he abuse you
in that private session?"
[menacing strings play]
I was shocked when she told me.
I said, "What?"
It was like I'd fallen
into a hole in the ground
because at that moment
I understood what was happening there.
Right there
I started feeling a great pain.
I felt extremely outraged.
I felt extremely disappointed.
How could I fall for that story?
That lie, when it was so obvious?
So, I went back to the Home.
I went back there to talk to him.
I knocked on his door
and tried talking to him.
He wouldn't open the door,
but I knocked until he did.
When he opened it, I confronted him.
I pointed my finger to him and said,
"You're a pig, you're a piece of shit,
you're a son of a bitch."
"How could you do this?"
So, he started calling his assistants,
his henchmen, started yelling.
When I saw his men were armed,
I realized I was in danger, so I left.
[Stoduto] These cases
have been going on for years.
It's a fact that many people knew.
But people wouldn't report him
for many reasons.
Or they wouldn't report him
because of interest.
"I need to keep my posada, my tour group."
"I need this. I need that."
So it kept going.
[Turcato] Mr. John used to pay us weekly.
Payments were never overdue or anything.
We'd count the money
and put it in trash bags.
Mr. John would get the bags
and stuff them in his ceiling.
We'd get 25, 30, 40,
60 thousand, depending on the week.
He'd take everything.
He was controlling.
Nobody could touch his money.
I think he's a classic gangster.
[Bailot in English] The posada owners,
not all of them,
but quite a few of the posada owners,
were instructed to tell John every day
about troublemakers,
people questioning what was happening,
about rich people.
The rich people
were marked from the beginning.
He'd say, "I know you got stomach cancer."
"You're gonna need extreme help."
"What if God is"
"I'm a poor man, but I love crystals,
I've been collecting them all my life."
"I've got a crystal that'll cure
your stomach cancer."
"How much is it?"
One man from South Africa,
while I lived there, paid 50,000 dollars,
for a crystal this big.
John showed up
over a period of two or three months
with six brand-new cars
and pick-up trucks.
Brand-new. Each one different.
He always would come in the morning
with two or three huge,
enormous pistoleros,
because he alleged somebody
had tried to assassinate him.
These guys had pistols.
[John in Portuguese]
This gentleman wanted to buy land
to build a place that would become
a posada to Americans.
I didn't ask for anything.
How much did he say
he was going to pay for that lot, Ricardo?
[in English] How much did Gary
offer medium John for the land?
[in Portuguese] 220,000 dollars.
[Heather in English] He gave you
the crystal bed,
which is 4,000 dollars, for cheap.
Had given you as part of the deal.
But he feels that he is
made
been taken advantage of.
[man] Who's that?
[Heather] Medium John.
[indistinct]
[John in Portuguese]
You can shove it up your ass.
Well, when I'm not here,
I'll do it as well.
And everyone get the hell out of here
because I'm not a bum! You are!
[man in English] No. John, over and over
you have told me half lies.
You told me I could work in your room.
[in Portuguese] It's how it's gonna be.
Have a seat. Sit down.
Please sit down. Sit.
- [in Portuguese] Sit down, then.
Sit down. Sit. What are you thinking?
- You're screaming. Sit down.
- No, don't.
[Heather in English]
Gary, please, sit down.
Sit down, please.
Medium John will sit down.
He doesn't need to yell at me.
[Turcato in Portuguese]
And then came the extortion.
Hostels had to pay a percentage to John.
Each hostel would pay
a minimum fee per month.
There were almost 50 hostels.
Also taxi drivers had to pay
half their wages to drive around there.
TAXI TO DON IGNATIUS
People who brought tour groups
also needed John's permission to do it.
This permission was basically payment.
The only embarrassing thing
is that on payday,
if people didn't have money,
I had to tell Claudio, the Home's manager.
And he'd deal with it.
How he'd do that?
The money always came.
[in English] During this time,
John had Abadiânia completely in his fist.
[Turcato in Portuguese]
He'd welcome politicians, famous people,
artists, police officers, police chiefs
He did have contact
with the dark side of the power.
[Stoduto] If I am anonymous,
I am a common rapist.
I am just a random offender.
If I'm a big celebrity,
and have people
from the highest levels of society,
kneeling before me and kissing my hand,
it won't be that easy to say
and prove that I'm a rapist.
That's obvious.
You can deceive people for a year or two,
but for 24 years in the same place?
That's not possible.
You can't deceive people for 41 years.
Around four or five billion people
being deceived for 44 years?
To be on this mission for 48 years
deceiving people is improbable.
For a year or two, but for 55?
but for 60 years deceiving people
in various countries,
in all of Brazil's state capitals
It's difficult.
[guitar music plays]
[man] I was waiting for you.
- [man 2] Good morning.
- Good morning.
About our João Teixeira de Faria, right?
ZÉ TELIM
JOHN OF GOD'S FRIEND
Our John of God, right?
I like him a lot.
A very good person, very noble.
He helped a lot of people here in Itapaci.
I've known him since he was a kid.
He got very rich.
He entered the mining business.
He used to buy gold and emeralds here.
I think spiritualism
can do people no good.
What made him money were the gemstones
and the rich people followed him.
Let me tell you something:
John is a really powerful man.
He is a tough guy.
[woman] Here everybody knew him
as John from Yucca.
John from Yucca.
And she worked a lot, his mother.
She was a hard worker.
SEBASTIANA ALVES
JOHN OF GOD'S FORMER NANNY
She worked as a dyer.
He stayed with me.
With time, I heard
that he had become famous.
He was famous.
I saw him on TV in São Paulo
and I said, "My son's really famous."
"He's doing surgeries."
[man] I met John when he was a little boy.
We used to hang around together.
Party together.
Always going to the red-light district,
me and him.
LINDOLFO BENTO DE MACEDO
JOHN OF GOD'S FRIEND
Hi, my friend! Excuse me.
- [man] Come to the kitchen.
- How are you?
- How are you?
- He's Pintinho, a pioneer in Itapaci.
Alleluia.
When he was young, we grew up together
because they used to live here.
We used to hang out here,
play by the river.
We were really close friends.
When he grew up,
he wouldn't care about us anymore.
PAULO PINTO
JOHN OF GOD'S FRIEND
Rich people don't even look
at poor people. They don't.
They just care about themselves.
They just want more and more.
When clients come here
feeling unwell or something,
I put my hand on their heads,
like this, and say,
"God, our Father,
who is powerful and good."
"Give strength to those
going through hardships."
"Give light to those seeking the truth."
"And put into men's hearts compassion."
And put into men's hearts
compassion and kindness.
God.
[guitar music playing]
[Machado] He has always been
a very ambitious man.
In the beginning, he said that
he didn't have a commitment
to the spiritual world
so he'd feel those things and heal,
but he wanted money.
After that, he'd play pool.
Mr. John has always been a party lover.
He liked to dance.
He got married many times.
He had children from different mothers.
He was a socialite.
[woman] We're sailing through the river
This is the Furnas Dam in Minaçu, Goiás.
We're accompanied by
the honorable mayor of this city.
Turn to the camera.
Who's there?
[woman] And my distinguished husband,
João Teixeira de Faria.
[John] This mission is not easy.
My fellows think
that this homemade medicine
has made me a fortune.
"John is rich because he takes it
from the Home of Don Ignatius."
No, João Teixeira is a miner.
I'm an adventurous miner.
[upbeat music plays]
[Machado] He used to wander around.
He was a wanderer.
During that time, he went to Serra Pelada.
1980s
SERRA PELADA - PARÁ
Then he became a partner
of other mines in Goiás
and started investing in land.
He became a farmer.
[John] I'm not on this mission
to get money, fellows.
It's because I have faith
in God that I'll thrive.
That's what I want.
The day I think about making money
I want the Eternal Father
to turn my whole body into leper.
Lord, may your will be done in my life.
[Mannelli] Looking back
at some elements now,
I can see
there was something weird about it.
When he locked the door,
that called my attention.
But I didn't question him.
Then he asked me
if I was wearing something metallic.
I asked him, "Do you mean prosthetics
or something like that?"
He said, "No, are you wearing any metal?"
I said I had earrings on,
a ring, something like that.
He asked me if I was wearing a bra.
I said, "Yes."
And he said, "You have to take it off,
because I'll do a cleansing
and you can't have
any metal on your body."
The process started
with psychological abuse.
He begins by telling you
a bunch of things like,
"You will heal your mother."
"Do you want to heal your mother?"
"If you want to heal your mother,
you have to cooperate."
"Because if you don't do what I tell you,
your mother will die."
Then that man, who's almost six feet tall,
obese, rude, screaming at you,
asking you to do something.
So you don't question and say,
"No, I'm not doing it."
You think it's weird,
because he starts violating your body,
so you say to yourself,
"Something doesn't add up."
So at first,
when he started abusing me,
I started crying.
When I started crying, he asked me,
"Do you want your mom to die?"
Then he started yelling,
"Do you want your mom to die?"
That left me in a difficult position
and I thought,
"No, I don't want her to die."
"So you have to cooperate,
otherwise she'll die."
"And you'll be responsible for that
because you can heal your mom."
Every time that he would touch me,
I'd cry.
And every time I'd cry,
my mom and dad would listen outside.
So his cruelty has no limits.
He's capable of raping the daughter
of a couple
who were sitting outside listening,
as if it were something ordinary.
With no remorse whatsoever.
He steals away much more than your faith.
He steals a lot of things,
along with your faith.
He intimidated me.
He threatened me.
He said I would be responsible
for my mother's death.
Who in good conscience
would wanna bear this responsibility?
Who would wanna pay the price
to see if it's true or not?
If he really has that power or not?
I wasn't willing to.
[Wagner] In September, someone called me
and showed me the documents
and said, "This has been published"
JARDEL WAGNER
VOLUNTEER AT THE HOME
"and the company is already preparing
a news story to crush him
and the Home of Don Ignatius."
"So I'm passing it on to you
and you know what to do."
So I came into the room,
sat down with him, and he said,
"Explain everything to me."
I said, "I got a call from someone."
"They said Globo Network
is preparing a report against you."
And he said,
"What do you think I should do?"
I said, "Look, you have to prepare.
Get a good lawyer."
He said, "No."
He said,
"Don't leave me. Stay with me."
DECEMBER 7, 2018
Today we're hearing for the first time
some statements
about the other side of John of God.
We've heard ten women who felt
sexually abused by the medium.
When I watched Bial, the TV show,
and I saw those women
giving their testimonies,
and I beside Marcia, my wife.
I see myself in them.
I couldn't say I was relieved
because it wasn't a relief.
I felt pain.
[reporter] John of God.
This was one of the most spoken names
over the weekend in Brazilian
and international media.
[reporter 2] Horrendous stories
from many places in the world.
[reporter 3] The victims state
that they were sexually assaulted
by the medium known as John of God.
More than 80 women have come forward
to talk about the sexual abuse
they allegedly suffered
by the medium João Teixeira de Faria.
That news report was a shock to everyone.
The Home always welcomed people.
We'd never seen anything that was said.
We'd never witnessed it.
I've never seen anything myself
and suddenly we came across
that huge news report.
I thought the problem
would be solved soon.
But on Saturday, things escalated.
ANGELA HOMERCHER
VOLUNTEER AT THE HOME
Things started to get bigger.
As hours went by, the news got worse.
Investigations suggest that the abuses
may have started in the '80s.
It's still impossible
to determine the total number of victims
in Brazil and also abroad.
[woman] According to the victims,
they were chosen by the medium
to see him in his room, unescorted.
I won't say I didn't believe it,
but I had doubts.
I had an internal conflict.
Like, what's the truth? Is it a lie?
I've never seen anything.
I've never witnessed anything.
How come in 25 years of the Home,
practically living there
for the past ten years,
I had never seen anything?
[Wagner] The night before, he called me.
That night I stayed with him.
In the morning, he made a decision.
He said, "Let's do this."
"Can you take me?" I said, "Sure, sir."
"Take me, and bring me back."
I said, "Sure. It's a pleasure."
I drove there
and the press was following us.
[crowd clamoring]
Calm down.
[Kist] João Teixeira de Faria,
John of God.
The day he got there,
he was holding on like this.
Many people around him.
It was brutal.
It was the most desperate look
I've seen in medium John.
[crowd clamoring]
There ain't no bums here!
I thank God for being here.
I'm still John of God.
But I want to observe the Brazilian law.
I'm in the hands of Brazilian law.
John of God is still alive.
May God's peace be with you.
[Wagner] We were with him here.
He gave me the mic
and he asked me to take him inside.
He and I got inside holding hands.
And walked towards the armchair,
where you could see
the statue of Saint Rita.
He asked me to take the statue
and put it on the armchair.
He also talked to some people.
He said some words to them
and said that he was giving
this mission to Saint Rita.
Then he looked at me and said,
"Now you can take me from here."
[crowd clamoring]
- Mr. John!
- A little word, John!
Are you innocent?
I'm innocent.
[Wagner] I was hurt
by the cameras hitting my back, my legs.
And I was escorting and defending him.
People would punch and kick the car
so I drove slowly not to hurt anyone
and then I left.
I hit the gas as hard as I could,
but when I looked back,
I saw two cars were chasing us.
When I made this U-turn, he asked,
"Where are they?"
I looked and said, "Right there."
Both cars were coming this way.
He said, "Faster."
I looked up to the sky and said,
"God will guide me."
"I don't know what else to do."
Then I didn't see anything else.
THANK YOU, ABADIÂNIA
[woman] The police went to
at least 20 different locations
looking for the spiritual leader.
He's now considered to be on the run.
IF YOU KNOW A VICTIM OF VIOLENCE OR ABUSE
AND NEED HELP TO FIND RESOURCES
VISIT WWW.WANNATALKABOUTIT.COM