Scientology Lies

The Hungarian Church of Scientology, having been accused of wanting to import lie detectors to Hungary in September (as reported in The Budapest Sun, Sept 22), has now been accused of having a similar machine which it uses on its members.

According to news portal Index, ombudsmen are investigating the methods the church is using to find out information about its own members and their relatives. However, Lajos Fritzlauf, the representative responsible for central Europe at the Church of Scientology told The Budapest Sun, "Interestingly, we always find out about these accusations through the media and don't understand the whole issue." Ombudsman, Albert Takács told the Hungarian TV station TV2 that his office is performing "complex examinations" on how the church is dealing with data protection.

According to the ombudsman, several citizens have complained about the church's methods of collecting data about its members.

"Apparently, the church is not only using lie detectors but also questionnaires to find out about their members' sexual habits, perversions and their partners' names," he said.

Fritzlauf said, "We are not using any of these methods, we only have an 'e-meter' (electropsychrometer) that is accepted by the Hungarian police, as it is not adequate to detect lies. "The e-meter only helps our members to localize their conscience agonies," he told The Sun. The church's website says, "The e-meter is able to measure a person's mental state and can be very helpful in finding the area that has to be treated."