Scientology is trying to transform its image from that of a shadowy cult When Scientology officially opened its spectacular new British church in the Square Mile, the movement was given an unusually warm embrace by the Establishment. Ian Luder, an Alderman of the Corporation of London and a magistrate, lauded the organisation’s anti-drugs efforts. “The work which you do in this area is greatly to be welcomed,” he said, “and I wish you growing success.” It was a satisfying moment for ...

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 ...

THE INLAND Revenue is being asked to investigate why British Scientologists are refusing to pay a tax on the grounds they do charitable work — even though the controversial religion has been refused charitable status. Scientology, which came under fierce attack on the BBC last week, was denied the special status by the Charity Commission eight years ago. In a 49-page landmark ruling, commissioners said the church had not demonstrated it was “established for the public benefit as to satisfy the ...

Gays should be wary of ‘church’ that has helped advance the reckless idea that homosexuality can be cured. THE CULT OF Scientology is back in the news this week, after a video of a BBC reporter shouting down a church spokesperson hit YouTube. The BBC’s John Sweeney claims he was followed and harassed while working on a documentary about Scientology. The spokesperson in question is the son of actress Anne Archer. “I have been shouted at, spied on, had my hotel ...

The Church of Scientology last night launched a fresh attempt to discredit the Panorama reporter John Sweeney, following the broadcast of a prime time BBC1 programme investigating its controversial beliefs and recruiting methods. As Panorama editor Sandy Smith took to the airwaves to defend Sweeney's investigation following the furore around his furious YouTube outburst captured by Scientology cameras, the war of words and online propaganda intensified. Mike Rinder, a director at Church of Scientology International, said it was considering legal action ...

Aired May 14, 2007 - 22:00 ET THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED. ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everyone. Tonight, thousands of American troops in Iraq searching for three of their American buddies, searching their hearts out because they know all too well what the people who claim to have them can do and have done to captives in the past. We will have the latest on the ...

The BBC has hit back at accusations that it orchestrated a demonstration against Scientologists during which a "terrorist death threat" was allegedly made. It comes as a bitter row develops between the Corporation and Scientologists over a highly critical Panorama documentary about the religion, in which a veteran reporter lost his temper and screamed for 30 seconds at a Church member. The BBC has seriously reprimanded John Sweeney for the outburst, which the journalist has admitted was "wrong and stupid". The ...

Panorama reporter's outburst at Hollywood star's son is captured on video A Journalist at Panorama, the BBC's flagship current affairs series, has been reprimanded for losing his temper and screaming with rage during the making of an investigation into the Church of Scientology. John Sweeney has apologised for the outburst against a scientologist which was filmed and then put on the video-sharing website YouTube, prompting criticism of the corporation. The BBC held an internal inquiry but said Sweeney had not breached ...

Tom Cruise rolled into Manhattan under extraordinary security last night for a Hollywood-style fund-raiser to benefit his controversial project to help 9/11 responders. The diminutive Scientologist, accompanied by his wife, Katie Holmes, pressed the flesh with supporters inside a $6,250-a-ticket benefit in Chelsea. Reporters were barred from the West 18th Street fund-raiser, which resembled a Hollywood premiere, with scores of security men and paparazzi. "He said how grateful he was to everyone for supporting the project," said Pat Bahnken, a party ...

Movie star Tom Cruise has won the support of hundreds of emergency workers in New York, after he hosted a $6,250-a-ticket benefit in the city Thursday night to raise funds for his controversial Sept. 11 detoxification program. The New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project, which was co-founded by Cruise, is based on principals developed by Scientology leader L. Ron Hubbard. The free treatment involves large doses of vitamins, dietary adjustments and stints in a sauna. Among attendees at the high-profile event ...

[Picture]Tom Cruise and his wife Katie Holmes arrive at the Altman Building for his Detox Center Benefit. [Picture]Michael Pena and his girlfriend, Breen Schaefer, were among the attendees at the Detox Center Benefit. Superstar actor and Scientology pusher Tom Cruise headlined a Chelsea soiree with all the excitement of a movie premiere last night to raise money for his controversial effort to "detox" Ground Zero workers. "It is an injustice that after six years people who were down there are still ...

Lafayette Ron Hubbard wrote a book in 1950 that sold 20 million copies in 50 languages and introduced what is arguably the fastest growing religion on Earth: scientology. Scientology translates to "the study of truth." Scientologists can practice other religions and are asked not to believe anything based solely on faith. "The truth" is what each person discovers to be true, said Mike Klagenberg, Northern California director for the Church of Scientology based in Sacramento. Most people don't know what scientology ...

Should media mogul James Packer and fiancee, model Erica Baxter, ever face the strains that occasionally crop up in marriage, their key marital aid may be a device with steel cylinders held in each hand, attached by wires to a screen with dials and meters. It's the electropsychometer, or E-meter, and it's one element of a church with which Packer and Baxter are flirting: Scientology. While he hasn't talked about it much, the man who is inheriting a $7 billion fortune ...