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New and Updated Information at Scientology LiesHubbard-Inspired School Opens Up
November 4, 2005: David Touretzky, a computer science researcher, pointed to the first study barrier, "absence of mass," which means a child must have a picture of something - or the object itself - to understand what it is, for example. Scientology highlights "mental image pictures which have mass and energy" and change when people have a thought, look at the mental picture, or experience a feeling, according to the official church Web site. "Study Technology is Scientology," Touretzky said. "It's a little piece of the whole religion, but it's a piece."
Inside Cult Castle - The Weird Rituals at Scientology's Sussex HQ
November 4, 2005: "Have you ever destroyed a culture?" he asks. "Have you ever bred bodies for degrading purposes? Did you come to Earth for evil purposes?" Down the corridor, another sect member listens to a series of lectures on how, 75 million years ago, an alien prince killed millions of people with atom bombs. We are inside St Hill Manor, a small fortress in the West Sussex stockbroker belt, a rambling mansion that houses the British nerve-centre of the controversial Church Of Scientology.
Microsoft Deletes Scientology
November 4, 2000: An insurance company has sued a branch of the Church of Scientology, alleging it was underpaid for a workers' compensation policy. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. claims in a lawsuit filed Monday that the church's Flag Service Organization owes $378,873 in premiums and fees assessed after an audit turned up employees who had been covered under the policy but were "not yet paid for."
Scientology Sued Over Insurance
November 4, 1994: An insurance company has sued a branch of the Church of Scientology, alleging it was underpaid for a workers' compensation policy. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. claims in a lawsuit filed Monday that the church's Flag Service Organization owes $378,873 in premiums and fees assessed after an audit turned up employees who had been covered under the policy but were "not yet paid for."
Belgium Builds Case Against Scientology
November 4, 2007: Prosecutors call the church a "criminal organization." The church says it's a "witch hunt." It all began with a woman who wanted her money back. In 1997 a former member of the Church of Scientology, unhappy with courses she had taken, tried to get a refund of 700,000 Belgian francs - about $17,000. Authorities began looking into the church's finances and interviewing people.
Rehab Facility Draws Gripes
November 3, 2003: Neighbors of an oceanfront drug treatment center in Newport Beach are complaining to City Hall that facility operators are violating the occupancy limit in one house while expanding by renting another home nearby. Neighbors say Narconon's incentive to overcrowd is the $20,000 fee that clients are charged.
Residents and Church Members Oppose ADAMH's Levy Request
November 3, 1996: May, a Clintonville resident and Scientologist, said the opposition is not an "official activity" of the church. But graphs and information on fliers are identical to those found in a publication paid for by the Church of Scientology. "Some of this literature says psychiatry is the source of violence, racism and the Holocaust," Cass said.
Critics Leary Of Fire Fund's Cruise Plan
November 2, 2003: FDNY officials are worried by the clinic's requirement that firefighters abandon their inhalers and medication. FDNY Deputy Commissioner Francis X. Gribbon told us that Downtown Medical "is not a bona-fide detox program. It should not be a substitute for the medical treatment that our doctors have advised. We don't endorse it."
Church Abandons Tenderloin Mission
November 2, 2001: Only weeks after opening an Ikea-furnished, dot-commy new branch in San Francisco's South of Market area just as the neighborhood once again goes to seed, the Church of Scientology has quietly placed its downtown headquarters up for sale amid a devastating slump in property prices.
New Drug Program Has Its Critics
November 2, 1986: Local experts asked to evaluate Narconon's program said that at best it uses unproven theories of doubtful value. At worst, these experts said, the program is potentially dangerous. "I think it's basically charlatanism," said Bob MacFarlane, an addiction specialist at Sharp Cabrillo Hospital.
In Her Final Years, Scientologist Spent $175,000
October 31, 1997: From 1991 until she died in December 1995, McPherson spent more than $175,000 on Scientology courses, counseling and causes, according to financial records. In three of those years, her donations to the church ranged from 29 percent to 55 percent of her income.
Cruise As Nobel Co-Host Upsets Swedish Clergy
October 30, 2004: Religious leaders in Scandinavia are outraged by the decision to choose Scientologist star Tom Cruise to co-host the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize concert in Norway. Many are concerned Cruise will use the event to promote the controversial religion and have called on the Nobel Institute to withdraw their offer to the "Mission: Impossible" star. Karl-Erik Nylund, a priest from Stockholm, said, "They're a manipulative sect that takes over people's lives and finances."
One More Step In Legal Battle Taken By Church Of Scientology
October 30, 1984: The Church of Scientology went another round in court yesterday in its marathon fight against Ontario's legal establishment. The case, and another scheduled for this morning before a panel of three judges of the Court of Appeal, aren't by themselves particularly noteworthy. But they form part of a long trail of litigation left by the church since a massive police raid on its Toronto headquarters in March, 1983. The police alleged that the church and several employees defrauded the public by making fraudulent representations about several church courses and a device called an E-meter, which the church claims is used in its confessional.
Bavaria Asks Disclosure of Scientology Ties
October 30, 1996: The southern state of Bavaria said today that it would require all state employees to fill out a questionnaire detailing any tie to the Church of Scientology. The state chancellery said all applicants for state jobs, including teachers and police officers, would not be hired if they refused. Those already employed would face disciniplary measures if they declined. The move is part of a long-running effort by German authorities to stifle the influence here of the Scientologists. German authorites have charged that the group is a profit-making scheme and have denied it the tax breaks normally given churches and charities.
Scientology Building Plans Move Forward
October 30, 1995: A long-delayed construction project that would dramatically change the downtown landscape is back on schedule, according to a city memo. The organization announced the Super Power building in 1991 as part of a $38-million renovation and construction program in Clearwater. The last construction start was planned for March 1994, but Scientology decided to complete some renovation first.
Tom Gets Cult Gong
October 30, 2005: Tom Cruise flew into Britain to receive an award for becoming the biggest-ever cash donor to Scientology. Cruise and his pregnant fiancee Katie Holmes received a standing ovation from thousands of members during a three-day gala meeting of the group. The Diamond Meritorious Award was specially created to reflect his donations of millions of dollars over the years. Last year he was presented with the Platinum Meritorious Award for handing over $2.5million (pounds 1.4m) since joining the sect.
Anti-Scientology Foundation Created
October 30, 1999: A critic of the Church of Scientology said he is financing a new foundation named after Lisa McPherson, a Scientologist who died in 1995 while in the care of the church. Robert S. Minton said he would incorporate the Lisa McPherson Educational Foundation. McPherson, 36, suffered a severe mental breakdown 17 days before she died of a blood clot in her left lung. Her death prompted a wrongful death lawsuit, filed in Tampa, and criminal charges against the church in Pinellas County. Minton's foundation will reach out to disaffected members of the church and educate the public about what he says are the harmful effects of Scientology.
And The Band Played Believe It If You Like
October 29, 1998: Back in the good old rationalist days of the 1970s, when American Scientologists were regularly greeted by Special Branch officers at Heathrow and returned toot-sweet to from whence they came, it would have been impossible to imagine Lafayette Ron Hubbard's bunco-booth cult getting as easy a ride from an allegedly sceptical journalist as Jon Ronson gives it in the first instalment of For The Love Of . . . Faith (C4, 12.25am), his new series of informal gabfests with adherents of various, mostly unconventional, religions.
Beckham Scientology Shock
October 30, 2007: David Beckham has spoken of his respect for Scientology but denies showbiz pal Tom Cruise has tried to convert him to the religion.
Subway-Tology! MTA Poster Full Of Plugs For Religion
October 29, 2004: A poster being sold to mark the 100th anniversary of the subway has an underground message - and it has nothing to do with trains. The poster, which depicts a crowded Times Square subway station, contains what seems like an endless number of plugs for the controversial Church of Scientology. The poster also showcases at least half a dozen Web sites with connections to Scientology.
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