The Buffalo News: "Being In, Breaking Out" «Rich and Anne-Marie Dunning joined the Church
of Scientology of Buffalo because they wanted to help save the
world.
When they left their high-level church staff jobs on Mother's
Day 2003, it was to save themselves.
By then, the Niagara Falls couple had concluded the church was
an authoritarian, money-making cult that brainwashes its
followers.
They say they ought to know, because it happened to them.
The Dunnings claim the church demanded unquestioning obedience
to every church policy, belief and decision. They say it kept
members in line with an elaborate security system - including
use of personal files and lie detector-like devices; a system for
informing on others, including spouses; and its own justice
system.
The church also nearly gained control of their 9-year-old
daughter.»
A Chat With
Anne Marie Dunning
«Tanya: That doesn’t surprise me. You
know my brother has been taught by Scientology to be deathly
afraid of the psychiatric profession. He would freak out at the
mention of the word psychiatry. He really used to display a
radical and fanatical hatred towards the whole profession.
Anne Marie: Right. We practice those responses for hours
and hours. We drilled on them, over and over, again and again.
Everything you read or are told within the church about the
field of psychiatry is evil, so eventually it becomes easier to
accept the lies as truth.»
Dunnings and Durni Converse
«Tanya: Here’s another question that was
posed to me since our last chat. Do you know anything about a
Scientology family whose house burned in a fire and then the
Church of Scientology went after the insurance money?
Anne Marie: Yes. Bill and Sue Weibert. They live in
Youngstown, not far from Fort Niagara. I know they used at least
part of the money they received from the insurance company to
purchase auditing. I also know that her daughter, who is in the
Sea Org, wrote a knowledge report about this. This was right
before I left. I am not sure what happened from there. I do know
that Jeff Carlson was trying to get them to use more of the
money towards Bill’s auditing, but while I was there, Bill
resisted.
Rich: That would be the good Scientologist in Jeff, it is
more important for him to sell Scientology services, than to
rebuild a family’s home.
Tanya: I suppose Jeff would make commissions off of that
sale.
Rich: Of course. Commissions and praise from upper
management.»
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Rich
Dunning's Report: Part I - My Indoctrination «I took a post as Deputy to the Executive
Director, Jeff T. Carlson. Jeff was surprised for a new comer to
take that much responsibility; he told me I was a huge thetan to
do that, and his words made me feel good. I only worked on post
three days a week due to the fact that I had a full time
wog
job. After a few months on staff I began to question why I
wasn’t being paid for my duties as promised.»
Rich
Dunning's Report: Part II - The Black Hole
«I took my children with me to the Org so that
I could be on post. My kids got there at 12:00 PM and did not
leave until their mother was done some six hours later. I was
forbidden to leave my post to check on them or get them
something to eat, because that would be treason according to
Jeff the Executive Director. And if I left to go check on them,
he would immediately put me into that condition.»
Rich
Dunning's Report: Part III - Disenchantment
«We were called in one at a time and asked if
we read any of the material. We both vigorously denied doing any
such thing, yet to my astonishment,
we were told to
disconnect from our families right away or “terrible” things
would start to happen to us. In the mean time, I was
secretly doing research at work about this “religion” and read
the heart felt stories of people and families being split apart,
children being taken away at young ages, deaths and other
horrible things.»
Rich
Dunning's Report: Part IV - Breaking Free
«Scientology preys upon people with good
intentions and hearts, or others who have done something wrong
and want to correct it.»
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