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Letters to the Editor // Scientology's battle against hate group

Title: Letters to the Editor // Scientology's battle against hate group
Date: Thursday, 11 May 1995
Publisher: Wall Street Journal
Main source: link (54 KiB)

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In regard to the April 10 Letters to the Editor from Marcia Rudin and Herbert Rosedale that accompanied my letter in response to the criticisms of Scientology in a March 22 article:

For Ms. Rudin to use the word "cult" shows a mentality of bigotry that should be foreign to Americans aware of the Constitution. Our war with bigotry is over, as is the conflict over religious recognition. The IRS's full recognition of the churches of Scientology has been done after the most extensive examination of any organization in history. Ms. Rudin's organization would never survive any such examination; she desperately seeks to continue a battle that she cannot win in the free marketplace of ideas.

The choice of Mr. Rosedale as a respondent to my church and our right of response is slightly less than reprehensible. His respect for religious freedom involves the attempt to destroy the rights of others. Mr. Rosedale and his ilk live in a dark world where those who do not share their political/religious views are to be destroyed by deprogramming, which is their euphemism for kidnapping. Hate groups like those of Mr. Rosedale and Ms. Rudin are inappropriately featured in your paper.

Scientology has arrived in the mainstream; a few outposts of residual hate groups remain, but as such are completely out of step with the rest of the world. The old animosities die in time; the old attempts to rekindle hatreds by those with an agenda against religion will prevail if only there is no communication between us.

HEBER C. JENTZSCH
President Church of Scientology International
Los Angeles