Canterbury Mornings

A former Gloriavale member believes Hopeful Christian's original intentions for founding the community were good and pure, but that's not what the community has turned into. Hopeful Christian, born Neville Cooper, died yesterday, after battling cancer.He began the West Coast-based religious sect almost 50-years ago, and later serving prison time for sexual abuse charges.David Ready, 19, left the sect two years ago. He told Chris Lynch that Christian's motives went off track and he wouldn't listen to anyone."It just got worse and worse and worse and worse to the point that it is today, where it's not a very happy environment. Basically, the choice is be happy or don't be happy. Those are the same choices you'd get in jail."Ready says he visits his family in Gloriavale - but the leaders don't like it at all.He hopes they will be safer now that Christian is gone. "His control, his power, his decision he makes, a lot of them have long term, harmful effects, and now that he's gone, a lot of them have died with him