Press
Press in the News
Date |
Title |
Blurb |
Tags |
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January 24, 1997 |
Scientologists Lose Court Case |
A Greek judge has declared an Athens Scientology group illegal, ruling that it had obtained a license to operate here under false pretenses. The ruling was the first in Greece against the Scientologists, a group founded in 1954 by U.S. writer L. Ron Hubbard that says it represents a godless religion whose members strive for spiritual growth and self-improvement. Critics of the group argue that it is a cult that exercises undue influence over its members and bilks them of money. |
Greece, Press, Scientology and Society |
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January 19, 1997 |
Hounded by the Church of Stars and Hype |
Some of Hollywood's biggest names have accused Germany of persecuting the Church of Scientology. But in Britain, the church itself is accused of using dirty tricks to harass its critics. In 1993, leaflets denouncing Bonnie as a "hate campaigner" were handed out and she sued for libel. The church countersued and has since mounted two further actions against them. A private investigator precipitated further proceedings. |
defamation, harassment, Press |
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December 22, 1996 |
Scientolgist's Death: A Family Searches For Answers |
Lisa McPherson was a vibrant woman who valued her health and was looking forward to returning home. Shortly before Thanksgiving 1995, she called an old friend and family members and said she would be coming home for the holidays. For the first time in four years, she talked with her childhood friend Kellie Davis and told her she would be moving back to Dallas by Christmas. She also told her she would be leaving the Church of Scientology, of which she had been a member for half of her life. |
Dallas, Lisa McPherson, Press |
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December 21, 1996 |
Scientologist's Diaries Reveal Little |
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. |
Lisa McPherson, Press |
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December 20, 1996 |
Family Questions Details Of '95 Death |
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." |
Clearwater, crimes, Lisa McPherson, Press |
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December 19, 1996 |
Germany Wanting Scientologists Out |
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. |
Germany, Press |
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December 18, 1996 |
Keep Investigation On Track |
Lisa McPherson was a member of the Church of Scientology for 18 years before she died in December 1995. Any objective review can only raise more questions about what happened to the 36-year-old woman in the 17 days between the traffic accident and her death. A year later, the Clearwater Police Department still is looking for answers and avoiding accusations. Instead of cooperating, the Church of Scientology has responded by attacking the police department and complaining of harassment. It is standard procedure for Scientologists to discourage scrutiny with tactics that smack of intimidation. The Clearwater Police Department and the state attorney's office should not allow such a strategy to derail this investigation. |
Clearwater, crimes, Lisa McPherson, Press |
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December 15, 1996 |
Tampa Tribune: Mystery Surrounds Scientologist's Death |
After spending half her life as a member of the Church of Scientology, Lisa McPherson told friends she was ready to get out. She hoped to visit them at Thanksgiving and vowed to be home for good by last Christmas. But on Thanksgiving a couple of weeks later, McPherson was at the Fort Harrison Hotel, Scientology's world spiritual headquarters, taken there Nov. 18 by Scientologists for "rest and relaxation." Seventeen days later, she was dead. |
Lisa McPherson, Press |
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December 6, 1996 |
Fate of Files Worries Anti-Cult Group's Clients |
Thousands of people who called the Cult Awareness Network over the past several years now face the possibility that files of their dealings with the group could be sold. |
Chicago, Press |
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December 1, 1996 |
Lawyer Buys Rights to Anti-Cult Organization |
For 20 years, the Cult Awareness Network ran the nation's best-known hotline for parents who grew distraught when unconventional religious groups they neither trusted nor understood suddenly won the allegiance of their children. Last week its name, logo, post office box and telephone number were sold to the highest bidder: a Los Angeles lawyer named Steven L. Hayes, who is a Scientologist. Hayes says he is working with a group of people "united in their distaste for CAN" who plan to reopen the group so it "disseminates the truth about all religions." "It kind of boggles the mind," said David Bardin, an attorney who has represented CAN in Washington. "People will still pick up the CAN name in a library book and call saying, 'My daughter has joined the Church of Scientology.' And your friendly CAN receptionist is someone who works for Scientology." |
Chicago, Cynthia Kisser, Kendrick Moxon, lawsuits, Press |
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