THE Church of Scientology is preparing to expand its creed to the north of England by opening a centre in Manchester next year. The church, which has been criticised as a cult, has paid £3.6m for a disused distillery in the city. It plans to turn the five-storey building, near Old Trafford, into “a place of worship and religious instruction”. The move is part of a world-wide expansion strategy by the American organisation, which was founded by L Ron Hubbard, a ...

THE CHURCH of Scientology is pressing ahead with plans to convert a Trafford distillery into a "place of worship" for hundreds of followers. The controversial group - whose celebrity members include Tom Cruise and John Travolta - bought the Grade II-listed building on Chester Road for a reported £3.6m. Plans to convert it into a "place of worship and religious instruction" were withdrawn earlier this year when the Trafford council expressed concerns about parking. But the Church of Scientology is planning ...

It has purchased more spacious quarters on Chestnut Street and plans to expand. Retailers, restaurants and other businesses are flocking to Center City. Now comes another flock. The Church of Scientology last month paid just under $8 million for a vacant 15-story office building and an adjoining one-story former toy store in the heart of downtown: the 1300 block of Chestnut Street — across the street from Macy's and next door to the furniture store Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams. The ...

The former home of the Science Museum of Minnesota in downtown St. Paul will undergo a $7 million makeover and be unveiled next year as among the largest Church of Scientology centers in the world. Only the spiritual headquarters in Clearwater, Fla., and Los Angeles are bigger than the 80,000-square-foot building at Seventh and Exchange streets, said the Rev. Brian Fesler, the church's director of special affairs in the Twin Cities. "We didn't plan it that way, but I'm happy about ...

The Church of Scientology is stepping up its image and presence here, spending $10 million to buy a prominent Auckland building. The church, which is popular with Hollywood stars such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta, will move around 100 staff into the building perched above the Southern Motorway at Grafton and run courses from there. It will soon leave Panmure's industrial strip for the building now occupied by the Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design, which has two other campus ...

Pasadena – Before work has even started on the Church of Scientology's new complex in Old Pasadena, members have clashed with the city over sidewalk tables used to distribute church literature and sign up passers-by for "stress tests." Eden Stein, president of the Scientologists' Pasadena branch, said Tuesday that a church lawyer has written to City Attorney Michele Beale Bagneris and the Police Department to complain that code-enforcement officials were "out of line" in citing them for using the sidewalk for ...

Scientology has started a new propaganda offensive in Europe, opening new offices in capitals across the continent. German authorities are responding by increasing their efforts to monitor the controversial organization. At first sight, the building in Berlin's Charlottenburg neighborhood looks like a run-of-the-mill office complex: a functional, seven-story construction covered with glass windows. The young receptionist is dressed in black and wears a futuristic-looking headset. But for Scientologists, the building is a chapel, a place for studying their own doctrine and, ...

The Church of Scientology is moving its offices and worship center to downtown Kansas City and has purchased a historic former bank building at 1801 Grand Blvd. The church plans to occupy the former City Bank Building later this year and then sell its current facility at 39th and Main streets. The global religious organization was founded in the early 1950s by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard and includes among its members Hollywood stars Tom Cruise and John Travolta. The ...