Scientology Lies

December 23, 2004: Founded in 1954 by US writer L Ron Hubbard, the Church of Scientology was once branded "corrupt, sinister and dangerous" by a High Court judge. It is based on the premise that humans descended from alien spirits, Thetans, who came to Earth 75 million years ago. The Thetans' enemies are "engrams", malign forces from other galaxies. Therapeutic cleansing, known as "dianetics", can drive them out, resolve all problems and lead to eternal life.

December 23, 1997: Scientology has blasted Robert S. Minton Jr. for donating more than $1.25-million to its critics, calling his actions "nefarious" and underhanded. The church contends he is illegally interfering with lawsuits involving Scientology. But earlier this decade, Scientology officials themselves backed several lawsuits against one of the church's own adversaries, the Cult Awareness Network.

December 23, 1988: After years of sparring with the townsfolk and veiling itself in secrecy, the Church of Scientology has succeeded in turning Clearwater into its spiritual mecca. Scientologists quietly run teen nightclubs, schools, day-care centers, management consulting firms and other businesses, records and interviews show. Now the strategy of the organization, longtime observers say, is to confront controversy, gain converts and make money - lots of it. Scientology's Clearwater operation brings in $1.5-million to $2-million a week, say church watchers who include Clearwater police, former Scientology security chief Richard Azneran and former Scientologist-turned-author Bent Corydon.

December 20, 2005: Long before Cruise jumped onto talk-show host Oprah Winfrey's couch or blasted Brooke Shields for taking antidepressants, the Hollywood star undertook intensive study and counseling at the compound in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday, citing present and former Scientologists.

December 20, 1984: Germany created a government office Wednesday to coordinate its fight against the Church of Scientology and to keep people who are affiliated with the group out of key public jobs. Federal and state governments will work together to try to keep companies and people with links to Scientology away from jobs involving teaching and counseling, Kohl said in a statement. The German government claims Scientology is largely a money-making organization - with some traits of organized crime - that seeks world domination.

December 20, 1996: The family and friends of a Clearwater woman who died last year in the care of friends from the Church of Scientology are calling for more answers. The woman, Lisa McPherson, was pronounced dead Dec. 5, 1995, at a New Port Richey hospital after several fellow Scientologists drove her there from the Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater. McPherson had spent 17 days in the Scientology-owned hotel, resting and recuperating from unexplained anxiety, according to church officials. Dell Liebriech, an aunt of McPherson's, said she believes her niece "was held against her will."

December 22, 1993: The Church of Scientology holds assets of nearly $400 million, including a cruise ship used as a "seagoing religious retreat," according to a detailed portrait of the group's financial network provided to the Internal Revenue Service. The papers, which fill nine file boxes, were submitted by the church as part of its 39-year-old attempt to gain tax-exempt status. The documents became public after the IRS granted an exemption to more than 20 Scientology organizations October 1. The papers offer an unprecedented public view of the huge organization, which includes two publishing houses, a 2,845-acre California ranch used as a school for the children of church staff members and more than 45 buildings on 500 acres in Riverside County.

December 22, 1985: For all its supposed good cheer, the holiday season is ending on a beastly note for the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. The chamber joined Scientology in co-sponsoring a seven-mule-team sleigh ride on Hollywood Boulevard. The decision has stirred criticism from some Hollywood merchants and religious leaders who complain that the chamber's co-sponsorship might be interpreted as a tacit endorsement of Scientology's controversial counseling and religious theories.

December 21, 1996: Lisa McPherson wrote in her diaries of relationships with men; of exercising and diets; of working hard and paying off debts; of backaches and headaches; of dinners and holidays. From time to time, she also wrote using the unique vernacular of a Scientologist. A personal triumph might be called "a win." She looked forward to being "clear." Someone once had "run control" on her.