co-founder, director, and spokesperson. The initiation of this group and its promotion of human cloning incited much debate among other religious figures, scientists, and ethicists. Raël and Boisselier both spoke before US President Bill Clinton's Congress hearing on human cloning in March 2001. At the July 1998 training camp in the Jardins des Prophètes, Raël announced that in December 1997 he had received another revelation from the Elohim, commanding him to form a new grouping within the Raëlian Movement, the Order of Raël's Angels. This was to be a secret society, open only to women who would become the consorts of the Elohim after their arrival on Earth. A newsletter, Plumes d'Anges (Angel Feathers), was issued containing information about the Order. Palmer noted that by emphasizing the unique qualities of women, this group challenged the established Raëlian doctrine that men and women are wholly equal and interchangeable. In 2001, Raël toured Asia, giving seminars. That year he married for a second time, to a 16-year-old ballet student. Raëlism discourages marriage, and this instance was done for expediency, because he had been questioned by customs officials when traveling with her across borders. They subsequently divorced but remained a couple. In November 2002, a local man vandalised the group's Jardins des Prophètes property, causing significant damage. Raël stated that this had been a preliminary test of the "Abraham Project," a joint operation between the Central Intelligence Agency and the French intelligence agencies to assassinate him using schizophrenics directed through mind control. In December 2002, Boisselier announced that Clonaid's work had resulted in the birth of a baby, Eve, which she claimed was the world's first human clone. The child was not presented for scrutiny by scientists; the IRM's allegations regarding Baby Eve were never substantiated by the scientific community. Many commentators believed the announcement had been a hoax. In January 2003 the Raëlians declared that Eve's parents had hidden themselves to evade attention. Baby Eve's appearance gained the Raëlians much international press coverage, and also much ridicule. The group claimed this publicity generated around 5000 new members. Boisellier announced periodically that further clone infants had been born, in the Netherlands, Japan, South Korea, and Australia, although the press increasingly deemed these hoaxes and stopped attending Raëlian press conferences. In January 2003, Raël announced Boisellier as his appointed successor, and also published The Maitreya, in which he identified himself with the eponymous figure