Press

Press in the News

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July 10, 1997 St. Petersburg Times: Weakening McPherson Fought Food, Medicine Fourteen days after entering a Church of Scientology retreat in good physical health, Lisa McPherson was so weak she couldn't stand, according to church records - yet for three days after that, church staff members continued to care for her in a room at the Fort Harrison Hotel instead of seeking hospital care. Lisa McPherson, Press
April 19, 1997 Court Rejects Scientology's Religious-Freedom Argument The Ontario Court of Appeal has upheld the 1992 conviction of the Church of Scientology of Toronto and one of its officers on two counts of criminal breach of trust stemming from covert operations of its Guardian's Office more than 20 years ago. In a 143-page ruling released late yesterday, a three-judge panel rejected arguments by Scientology lawyers that incorporated non-profit religious associations should not be held liable for unauthorized criminal acts committed by individuals within their ranks. crimes, lawsuits, Press
April 15, 1997 Scientology's Publication Is Critical Of Police Scientology criticized the Clearwater Police Department in a blistering series of articles published in their tabloid "Freedom". Citing "an informed source" who is not named, the latest edition of the Scientology publication Freedom states that Clearwater police discriminate against black people, have a poor record of drug enforcement, and pad their law enforcement statistics. Police Chief Sid Klein said, "Freedom is at best journalistically bankrupt." Press, Scientology and Society
April 14, 1997 Internet Firm Luckman Surfs Rough Waters Behind the image of a hot young high-tech company on the way up is an unpleasant tale of an ambitious super-salesman who by most accounts is on the way down - and may be taking more than a few people with him. Dozens of former company employees have gone several months without being paid. Creditors have filed suit. And one major backer of the firm alleges in a lawsuit that the company and its founder and chairman, Canadian-born Brent Luckman, have squandered nearly $1 million in company assets on first-class airline tickets, home stereo systems and donations to the Church of Scientology. Press, Scientology in the Workplace
April 10, 1997 Scientologists Lose Case Against Germany The European Commission of Human Rights today threw out a discrimination case brought by the Church of Scientology against Germany on grounds that the sect had not exhausted domestic legal channels. Scientologists complained that the Government considers their church a commercial enterprise, rather than a religion. The church has also asserted that several German states have banned Scientology members from some jobs. Germany, lawsuits, Press, Scientology and Society
March 30, 1997 True Story Of A False Prophet A 'religion' once banned and branded evil may soon be granted charitable status in Britain; a religion built upon the lies and fantasies of its guru, L Ron Hubbard. Scientology's dirty little secret, assiduously covered up over the years, is that its founder was a charlatan, an inveterate liar and a confidence trickster who shamelessly re-wrote his own life in order to bolster his credibility after he had decided that the best way to make money was to start a religion. L. Ron Hubbard, Press
March 25, 1997 The Scientology Problem To many authorities, not to mention alienated former Scientologists, Mr. Hubbard's creation looks a lot like the business of personal counseling or psychiatry (to which Scientology also raises theological objection). There have been repeated reports that Mr. Hubbard told his science-fiction colleagues that the way to get rich is to found a religion. IRS, Press
March 19, 1997 New York Times: Scientology Denies an Account of an Impromptu IRS Meeting The Church of Scientology has denied that its leader and another official had an unscheduled meeting in October 1991 with Fred T. Goldberg Jr., then the commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service. IRS, Press
March 9, 1997 New York Times: The Shadowy Story Behind Scientology's Tax-Exempt Status For 25 years, IRS agents branded Scientology a commercial enterprise and refused to give it the tax exemption granted to churches. The refusals had been upheld in every court. But then came an astonishing turnaround. The IRS had granted tax exemptions to every Scientology entity in the United States. Press
February 21, 1997 St. Petersburg Times: Scientology Had Woman in Isolation In the days leading up to her unexplained death, a 36-year-old member of the Church of Scientology was being kept in isolation at the church's Clearwater headquarters and had started banging her fists against the wall, a Scientology lawyer now says. Lisa McPherson, Press

Press in the News

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May 12, 2006 Polish Scientologists Ordered to Remove Tents When Scientology erected tents in Warsaw's city center to attract new members, city officials ordered them taken down. Press
September 30, 1996 Patrice Vic Trial Begins - Scientology Executive Charged with Manslaughter Trial begins in the death of Patrice Vic. Scientology executive Jean-Jacques Mazier is charged with manslaughter, and 22 other Scientologists also face charges. crimes, deaths, France, Patrice Vic, Press