------------------------------------------------------------------- F.A.C.T.Net, Inc. (Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network, Incorporated) a non-profit computer bulletin board and electronic library 601 16th St. #C-217 Golden, Colorado 80401 USA BBS 303 530-1942 FAX 303 530-2950 Office 303 473-0111 This document is part of an electronic lending library and preservational electronic archive. F.A.C.T.Net does not sell documents, it only lends them according to the terms of your library cardholder agreement with F.A.C.T.Net, Inc. ===================================================================== LATEY J. Royal Courts of Justic Re, B and G (Wards) ~. 6. These proceedings co,~cern 2 children, who are wards of Court: : A boy aged 10 who I wi 11 cal 1 B. t' A girl aged 8 who I will call G. ú The decision called for is whether they should rema' ::Ln their father's .care or be transferred into their m0ther's ~a~e. The mother has been but no longer is a 5cientologist. The father is a ScientoLogist. At the heart of the mother's case is the c,~i~t~ntion that iY the children remain in the care of the father they will be brought up as 5cientologists and will be seriously damaged. This the father denies: That is to say, he denies ~hat w~th all its flaws Scientology will damage the' children. And be says that he intends to bring the children up outside 5cientology until they are old enough to make ~heir own free choice. This judgment i5 being given iD open Court because it raises matters of some general public moment. In giving it I have tried to ensure that the children concerned and their family circles should not be identified. Inevitably, Scientologists in and around East Grinstead know who they are. So do 5cientologists in other parts of the ~rld, as has emerged in the evidence. But it could have serious and damaging effects on these children as they grow up if there were publicity in a wider circle identifying them. From experience over the years I know that the Press Association Reporters can be relied on to help in avoiding this ~ - 2 - As in every case involving important decisions about children there is a plurality of factors to be weighed, and this is no ~.=eptiono Scientology and its part in these children's lives now and in the future is one of the factors and an important one. But it is not the only one, It is important, indeed essential, to stress from the start that this is neither an action against Scientology nor a prosecurio of it. But willy-nilly Scientology is at the centre of the dispute of what is best for the children. The father and his counsel have stressed that they are not here to defend Scientology. That is true in the strict sense that the"Churc~f'o/Scientology is not a party to the proceedings. But they have known from the start what the mother's case is. It is plainly set out in the Affidavits. If there remained any doubt it was disp,~_lled by Mr Kennedy for the mother at a hearing for directions in january, 1984. The father's solicitor is a Scientologist. He has been in communicatic with the solicitors who act for 5cientology. There has been ample time and opportunity to assemble and aJduce documents and evidence in refutation of the mother's allegations. None has been adduced. Why? Because the mother's case is based largely on 5cientology's own documents and as the father's counsel, Mr johnson, candidly albeit plainrarely said "what can we do to refute what is stated in ~ own 'documents ?" The hearing has occupied three weeks. ~bst of it has been focussed on 5cientology, what it is and what are its methods and processes. Knowing virtually nothing about it before this hearing ] was at first surprised at the ~;~lbit of the enquiry. I no longer a~n surprised. It is a very serious matter so far as these children are concerned and the time spent on it has not been excessive. The parents were married in 1973 ~and la~e that year H was borr G was born in December, 1975. The parents separated in November, 1978. In December. 1~8 and January~ lgTg. the pa~en~ si agreements by virtue o~ which the ~ather had custody o~ t~ children and the mother ~ccess. The mothe~ lived with the step-~ther ~nd the ~ther lived with the step-mother. All ~our o~ them were Scientologists. In M~rch~ lg7g the ~ather filed a petition for divorce on the g~ound o~ the mothez's ~dmitted adultery with the stepfather. In Septembez, lgTg a decree nisi w~s pzonounced ~nd-,by agzeemen~m cus%ody was co~it%ed %o the ~the~. The divorce wa~ made absolute in November, lgTg. ?he ~a~he~ and step-mo%her m~rzied. ú he mother and ~tep-fathez al~o went thzough a ceremony o~ m~zriage believing that they were ~ree to do so. In ~act, the step-~athe~'s divorce had not ~ne through. ~hei~ union i~ a ;table and happy one~ they have ~ child, a little girl 'A' aged 4, and will mar~y when these proceedings ~e concluded and when the step-father's p~zents can be with them ~or the wedding. The mother and step-~athe~ have made their home in a - 4 - Commonwealth country and they ask that the children live ~'ith them there. ?he father and ~ep-mother's marriage is happy and stable. The step-mother has a child, 'j', by her previous marriage. He is close in age to B. They aze very fond of each other. The father and step-mother have a child 'S' aged 3 and they are expecting another baby in October. In May, 1980 there began a hearing by the Scientology "Chaplain's Courl~'concerning the custody of the Children. The decision, inaccurately described as an "Agreement", was that custody should remain with the father. In the suntmer of 1982 when the children were staying with their mother &rid step-father the mother decided to keep them. She and the step-father had left Scientology and she instructed solicitors who wrote to the father. The father went to mother's country. The mother took children to the United States. An order was made for the return of the children to the father and the father went to the United States and recovered them in Novemberm 1982. In 3unem 1983 the mother issued her application for care and control. In January, 1984 the mother and ~tep-father came to England, bought a house in East Grinstead and have been seeing the children regularly. Those are the bare bones of the history. Some elaboration ~-, <~alled for. After their marriage the father and mother lived in East Grinstead. This is where the Headquarters of Scientology in this country is situated at Saint Hill Manor. Itwas until recpntly the Headquarters world-wide. There are many 5cientologis ~r~ ~ne area, some working on the staff, others not on the staff but working for Scientology and all undergoing processing, that iS tO say, auditing and training courses if they can afford. it. As to the separation in 1978, the father said in his; Affidavit that this was caused by the mother's relationship with the step-father. In his oral evidence the father accepted that he had drawn up what in Scientology language is described as a "Doubt Formula" in which he said that he considered himself the mother's intellectual superior, that he had doubts about the wisdom of the marriage and that separation had been discussed on a number of occasions. This, of course, puts a somewhat different complexion on the matter. It is scarcely surprising that with a husband who so regarded her, she became attached to a man who held her in full regard and affection. As to the custody agreements in 1978 and 1979: The father naturally attaches much weight to them. The mother says that throughout she wanted the children and believed that it would be better for them to be with her. She was a committed Scientologist at the time. Scientology forbids recourse to the law courts of the country save in special circumstances with permission. The ordinary Courts are described in the language of Scientology as the "wog courts", an expression invented by ú L, Ron Hubbard the founder of the cult. The mother says that - 0 - she agreed to the father having custody because of the press' brought to bear on her by the father and the Scientologists ~/~o~,~:~ernedo The fath~,r accepts that she agreed very reluctan, He accepts that she is a good, Ioving mother and that the chi] Iove her. At the time of the separation B was aged just 5 and G r. quite 3. Had the dispute com{: to C~urt one cannot be sure, c course, what the decision wouid have been, but it is not unIi that children so young wouId have been put in the care o[ a g and devoted mother as this one is and ~lways has been. But the question today 5~> years later is what is better for the chiIdren in the circumstances as they are now and are likely to be. The mother agrees that the father loves the children. children love both their parents and are fond of both step-pa: and get on well with themø As to the'~'_haplain'~'decision~ There were written submi and ;ome oral hearings. It is noteworthy that from start to ~ the father'~ ~ubmission i~ couched in 5cientology terminology ú tresses all he and step-mother have done for 5cientology, how correctly they have complied with Scientology "ethics" and ho~ the mother has offended against those "ethics". The Chaplain course was a Scientology official. Both the mother and ~tep-father wanted to come to Court and in about May, 1980 she wls given permission to do so by th "Assistant Guardian" on condition that 5cientology would not b. - 7 - involved. But the father intervened with the Guardian and the permission was withdra~,n. It is also to be observed that from ,~larch, 1979 the mother had been trying to get a hearing before the'r,_haplain's Court'in the United States. It was refused. It i5 plain that from first to last the mother wanted the children. She should have gone to the Court. As a Scientologist then she could not. As to what happened in the summer of 1982z The father immediately on arrival applied to the Courts of the country concerned. The mother's solicitor was instructed. This was on the Friday. On the Saturday the father saw the children at the mother's home. The step-father more than the mother was in touch with the solicitor. On the Sunday the mother took the children to the United States. She did so because she was in fear of losing them. She was cross-examined at some length about whether she did this knowing that an interim order had been made restrainin, her from removing the children. It does not affect the question I have to decide. It goes to credibi'lity. On the balance of probabilities she was told. Whether and to what extent she grasped it is another matter. As the result of the father's arrival she was in a state of shock. She knew that he had come to get the children if he could and was in great fear that he would succeed. It is understandable that she did not absorb the niceties. She impressed me throughout as a wholly honest person. Nonetheless, she should not have done what she did do. It was done in panic. It was not in the better interest of the children. Nor was it right not to keep the father informed of the children's well-being. Apart from this one matter, so far as I can recall, her credibility has not been impugned. So today the mother asks that the children be committed to her care to live with her and the step-father and thei: small daughter in the country where they have settled. The children have stayed there happily for three lengthyperiods. T/,.e_'v~ The father asks that they continue to live with him and the step-mother and the other children-in thei= home in East Grinstead where they a~e happy and well cared for and at the school where they have oeen for some time. If those alone were the factors I think that the scales would probably come down in fayour of not disturbing the status quo. Indeed were it not for the SciEntol. ogy factor the mother painfully recognises that she would not now attempt to disturb the status quo and she herself and her counsel have made that plait, from the start. ~at then is the Scientology factor and wha~ weight should be attached to it? "Horrendous." "Sinister." "A lot of rotten apples in it." Those words are not mine. They are the father's own words describing practices of the ~lt and what it does to people inside it and outside it. "A lot of villains in it." "Dreadful things have been done in the n~e of Scientology." Those ~rds are not mine. They are the words of the father's counsel. - 9 - The father at one stage said he thought that these evils had ~.argely been eradicated in 1980. In the light.of the ev:dence not surprisingly that suggestion was not pursued in counsel's fxnal address. What js Sc~entoloqy? It is a word invented by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Cult. The concept, stated very briefly, is that from the beginning of time everyone is reincarnated. Inside each of us is a spiritual being whom I~ubbard calls a "Thetan". This entity is there to help improve one through the milennia. But in each incarnation we are handicapped or the Thetan is handicapped by the existence in us of "engrams" as Hubbard calls them - bad thoughts or past misdeeds in the present and previous incarnations. Those engrams have to be removed or "cleared" by certain processes invented by Hubbard. Until they are removed the Thetan cannot operate and the Scientologist is known as a "pre-clear". After they are removed the Scientologist is "clear" and becomes an "Operative Thetan" (OT). From there on he gets "case gain" improvement mentally, physically and spiritually and begins his passage "up the Bridge". If he transgresses he goes back to the beginning &nd is re-processed. Some might regard this as an extension of the entertaining science fiction which Hubbard used to write before he-invented and founded the cult which now in this country and some other5 is called the "Church of Scientology" though in Australia for example it calls itself the "Church of the New ~ ~_EL ". - lO- But in an open Society, such as ours, people can believe what they want to and band together and promulgate their beliefs. If people believe that the earth is flat there is. nothing to stop them believing so, saying so and joining together to try to persuade others. Some of the public proclamations of Scientology are unexceptional, such, for example, that 5cientologists should obey the law of the land. When one looks at the reality behind the public facade the matter is very different as will appear. WhAt are "Dianetics"? This is another Hubbard-invented word to describe the processes whereby the ain~of Scientology are furthered. Those processes are "auditing" and training courses. "Auditinq" "Auditing is a simple, thoroughly designed means of concentrating the mind to the state of*a controlled trance. The aim and result is progressively to enforce loyalty to and identification with Scientology to the detriment of one's natural awareness of divergent ways of thinking and outside cultural influences. Love and allegiance are more and more given exclusively to Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard." That is the description of it given by Dr. John Gordon Clark. Dr. Clark is a Doctor of Medicine of Harvard Medical School and a qualified psychiatrist and neurologist. He holds high appointments. He is Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Consultant in Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is a practising'psychiatrist. He has made a -11 - study of various cults and taught and lectured in various countries on the medical-psychiatric aspects of [orced conversions and ~indred topics. I~e was cross-examined at considerable length. }lis evidence was wholly convincing. His description o[ the aims and e[fec~s of auditing is supported by a mass of other evidence and refuted by none (save the subjective views of some of the Scientologists who have given evidence), and is supported by documents of J Scientology, to some of which I shall refer later. His description is accurate. In blunt language "auditing" is a process o[ conditioning, brainwashing and indoctrination. Dr. Clark was asked about other Scientology cases on which he has given evidence to the same efœect. I am not quite sure what the point was unless it was to show that he had become obsesslye. If that was the point I c2~n only say that he impressed me as objective, balanced, very careful and fair. What is the fact is ~hat it has called for very real courage to speak out as he has. I will come later to the vicious methods used by the'~ihurch"of Scientology as a matter of deliberate settled policy to discredit Dr. Clark and any others who criticise it or indeed others who the'~hurch"thinks may in the future criticise it. The mother complains about the cult and its practices and says that it is pernicious. Her principal complaints and my -]2- findings about them are these: 'The Founder~ L. ~on Hubbard. To promote himself 'and the cult he has made these among other false claims: That he was a much decorated war hero. He was not. That he commanded a corvette squadron. He did not. That he was awarded the Purple Heart, a gallantry decoration for those wounded in action. He was not wounded and was not decorated. That he was crippled and blinded in the war and cured himself with Dianetics techniques. He was not crippled and was not blinded. That he was sent by U.S. Naval Intelligence to break up a black magic ring in California. He was not. He was himself a member of that occult group and practised ritual sexual magic in it. That he was a graduate of George Washington University and an atomic physicist. The facts are that he completed only one year of college and failed the one course in nuclear physics in which he enrolled. There is no dispute about any of this. The evidence is unchallenged. Hubbard in a course called "Purification Rundown" (a course which the father &nd ~tep-mother recently artended, paying a high price for it) claims that it will increase the body's resistance to radio-activity. Shown thi~ the psychologist who gave evidence on behalf of the father, described it as "balderdash". Shown ~h.~bbard's writings about psychiatry and psychologists he agreed -]3- that it was "bunkurn". ~4ubbard has described himself as "Dr. }lubbard"'. Ihe only doctorate he has held is a self-bestowed "doctorat'e" in 5cientology. The use of false, spurious descriptions extends down~'ards. The Deputy Frincipal of the school where the children are at present being educated is a 5cientologist. At various times he has worn clerical garb and described himself a5 "Reverend". And at other times as "Professor". He did this, he accepts, for promotional reasons. ~lr Hubbard went into hiding in lc)BO. ~\ttempts have been made to secure his attendance at various hearings in the Courts of the United States. They have all failed because be cannot be found and served. The evidence is clear and conclusive: ~lr Hubbard is a charlatan and worse as are his wife Mary Sue Hubbard (she has been convicted of criminal offences in the United 5~ates in connection with Scientology and imprisoned) and the clique at the top privy to the Cult's activities. Recruitinq Various promotional campaigns are carried out. A favoured method is to offer a free "Personal Efficiency" test. When that has been carried out the subject is invariably advised that he or she is in need of Scientology and Dianetics. With the crude cynicism, which informs the reality of Scientology in contrast to it~ cosmetic appearances, potential recruits are described -]4- as "raw meat". The objective for adherents is to "get the me Off the Lockinc~ them in Once the fish is on the hook Scientologjsts must go to all and any lengths to stop it wriggling free. 1_. Ron Hubbard writes this (HOD Bulletin 2c) September "The whole dzeam of a PE (Persona} Ef/iciency) Foundation is to get the people in fast, get them invoiced in a congress type assembly line, no give them hot, excited, positive service and boot them on through to their K&S and THE. N worry about doing something else with them. And never let a a student leave or quit - introvert him like a bu] and get him to get audited. If he gets no realit) don't let him wander out. If be walks in that doc for a free RE, that's it. He doesn't get out exce into an individual auditor's hands in the real. tou cases, until he's an ~L~S." One of the most sinister aspects of auditing, one that lhocked the father himself, is the corrupt, indeed criminal, us of the confessions made to the auditor. Hubbard has emphasise~ repeatedly that everything laid during auditing is absolutely confidential. That assurance is given by the auditor to the person being audited. What happens i~ that that person communicates to the aud: hil innermost tbouQht~ and relates any criminal of fences or ,~:['anlgre~lions of any kind, any incidents from his life which -15- are embarrassing or for which he could be blackmailed. These statements are written down by the auditor including time, place, and a detailed description of each incident as well as who ~'ere present and knew about the incident. Contrary to the assurance of confidentiality all "auditinO" files are available to Scientology's intelligence and enforcement bureaux and are used, if necessary, to control and extort obedience from the person who was audited. If a person seeks to escape from Scientology his auditing files are ta]