A Vancouver man whose testimonial is used by Narconon in its promotional material says the organization is "extremely suspect" because of its links to the Church of Scientology. "They (Narconon) are definitely a part of the Scientology operation," Tom Perry said yesterday in an interview from B.C. "I know they rehabilitated my son, I know they rehabilitated his wife, but I wouldn't trust them as far as I can throw them." Although Perry doesn't deny writing the 1987 testimontial praising Narconon, ...

About 30 teenagers hired to raise funds for Narconon — a drug rehabilitation program linked to the Church of Scientology — picketed The Sun's offices yesterday to protest news reports on Narconon and the church last week. Several teenagers — accompanied by an adult spokesman bearing press kits — complained a recent Sun story linking Narconon to the alleged cult left the perception the teen salespeople are linked to the cult as well. "All we were trying to do was get ...

The Church of Scientology has turned a 24-year-old Winnipeg man into a different person, his father claimed yesterday. The worried father, who asked to remain unnamed, said his son has been involved in the organization for about two years, and even though he works for the church, he has nothing to show for it. "I've asked him a few times, 'What the hell are you doing there seven days a week?' " he said. "They've turned his mind around." The son ...

The Church of Scientology has a long and undistinguished history of harassing its detractors — but that shouldn't stop the media or anyone else from speaking out against it, cult experts say. The church commonly threatens lawsuits, tries to have detractors arrested, and harasses sources and individual reporters, said Cynthia Kisser of the Cult Awareness Network in Chicago. And recent Sun stories linking the church — alleged by experts to be a dangerous, mind-control cult — to Narconon, a drug rehabilitation ...

If you have a drug problem, Narconon isn't the answer, some experts say. "As far as I'm concerned, it's bad news, and I would not advise anyone to go near it," says UCLA psychiatry professor Dr. Louis West, who has studied the church since 1950, when it was L. Ron Hubbard's Dianetics, and not a recognized religion. "If someone needs help, they (Narconon) are taking the time and money away from a program that could actually help them," West said yesterday. ...

The Church of Scientology is a cult interested in making money, claims a local cult expert. Gordon Gillespie of the Manitoba Cult Awareness Centre calls Scientology — which is linked to the drug-rehabilitation program Narconon, currently fund-raising in the city — the "daddy" of cults. Gillespie said Scientology's church status gives it tax breaks, but it doesn't have churches and services like other religions. "I'd like to say 'No, they're not successful,' but they're still here and they're persistent." Winnipeggers who ...

The director of public affairs for the Church of Scientology in Western Canada denied yesterday it misled about 60 Winnipeg teenagers, hired to raise funds for a drug rehabilitation program linked to the church. "I just think it's very much a tempest in a teapot. This (project) employed a lot of kids," Robbie Hepburn, who flew in to Winnipeg from British Columbia, said. "Yes, there's a connection, but it's not some kind of covert or bad connection." Just because Narconon uses ...

Winnipeggers should steer clear of the Church of Scientology and its many organizations, which include a drug rehabilitation program called Narconon, a U.S cult expert said yesterday. "There are far safer programs," Cynthia Kisser, executive director of the Cult Awareness Network, said in an interview from Chicago. "Narconon is more likely to do harm than good." The Sun reported Sunday about 60 Winnipeg teenagers have been hired to sell pepperoni and T-shirts door-to-door to raise money for Narconon. However, a Narconon ...

Dozens of Winnipeg teenagers have been hired to raise funds for a drug rehabilitation program which critics charge is nothing more than a recruiting front for a "mind-control cult." About 60 teenagers who answered newspaper advertisements for summer jobs are selling pepperoni and T-shirts door-to-door to raise money for Narconon — a drug rehab organization linked to the Church of Scientology. And while officials from the program and the man behind the drive say it's all above board, it has sparked ...

When Narconon comes to town, the Church of Scientology — and trouble — follows, residents of Newkirk, Okla. warned yesterday. Newkirk civic leaders were threatened and harassed by the controversial church and its private investigators after they opposed a Narconon treatment centre set up on Indian territory near the small, rural town in 1989, Mayor Gary Bilger said. "We had three investigators in our little town of 2,300 off and on for weeks," he said. "My little boy was 11 years ...

INDIANAPOLIS — A cousin to the antidepressant Prozac may receive federal approval before the end of the year for treatment of obesity, representing a new wave of sales growth for this class of drugs. Prozac, now in its fourth year on the market and approaching $1 billion in annual sales worldwide, has been dogged for the past year by claims that it causes violent behavior including suicide. A Harvard researcher's study describing six patients who developed violently suicidal thoughts while treated ...

WASHINGTON —The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday rejected a request by a group affiliated with the Church of Scientology that it ban the anti-depressant drug Prozac on grounds that it makes people suicidal and violent. The FDA released a letter to the Citizens Commission on Human Rights saying that it had found no evidence for these claims or for the commission's additional claims that Prozac is addictive and causes movement disorders. The agency said it had reviewed the evidence provided ...

INDIANAPOLIS —The Food and Drug Administration weighed in heavily on the side of Ell Lilly & Co. in rejecting claims that the popular anti-depressant drug Prozac is connected to murder, suicide or other maladies. The FDA action follows a yearlong campaign against Prozac by the Church of Scientology that had sought to persuade the federal agency, through a formal petition, to ban U.S. sales of the Lilly drug. But the FDA found that a Scientology-founded group called the Citizens Commission for ...

WASHINGTON — Two years after embarrassing allegations of misconduct and abuse of power by several of its managers, the Internal Revenue Service is getting good marks for improving its ethical climate. "Substantial progress has been made," says Rep. Douglas Barnard, D-Ga., whose House Government Operations subcommittee has been investigating the IRS for three years. Even the National Coalition of IRS Whistleblowers, a Church of Scientology offshoot that dogs the agency's every move, offers a grudging commendation for positive strides to clean ...

Last week cult expert Jon Caven-Atack set up a meeting in Exmouth and persuaded a member of the Church of Scientology to return to her family. The Echo's Peter Hardy now talks to the man who has dedicated his life to exposing cults which he says brainwash their members. FOR NINE years, former rock drummer Jon Caven-Atack was under the spell of a "religious" sect known as the Church of Scientology. Now, outside the cult, Jon has pledged his life and ...

Scientology does make for interesting reading, whether it's a St. Petersburg Times story about plans to replace the Gray Moss Inn in downtown Clearwater with a six-story, $42-million religious training center, a Time magazine cover story about "The Cult of Greed" or an intriguing tale in a California monthly news magazine, North Coast Journal, about construction of "a massive subterranean vault" to hold the writings of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. A Clearwater area resident dropped off a copy of the ...

A RELIGIOUS cult member was persuaded to rejoin her family during a dramatic secret meeting in Exmouth, the Express & Echo can reveal. The daring rescue bid was set up after the family consulted experts opponents of the Church of Scientology, which has been accused of employing brainwashing techniques to win over some of its followers. Now the girl, a science graduate, is safe at a secret address, thought to be in the north of the country, after the successful reunion ...

CLEARWATER — The Church of Scientology is facing another lawsuit in the midst of an expensive nationwide campaign to bolster its image. The sect, which maintains its spiritual headquarters in Clearwater, has spent millions of dollars in recent weeks for advertising in the newspaper USA Today. In the lawsuit, a former sect member claims the church is a fraud; owes him money for counseling services he never used; and has cut him off from his two daughters, who still follow Scientology. ...

The Gentle Birth Foundation hopes that by Sunday night it will be able to deliver a lot of money to the Friends of the Gentle Birth Center. The foundation, led by actress Karen Black and Richard C. Wallace, founder of the International Artists' Guild, is sponsoring "Invest in the Best Celebrity Art Auction and Show" to benefit the Glendale birthing center, which has been under investigation by the state medical board since January. Local authorities have charged that non-certified midwives were ...

MILAN, Italy (AP) — A Milan court has acquitted 67 Scientology followers of charges ranging from criminal association to tax evasion, but it convicted six others of deceiving confused people. While not ruling that the group is a church, as Scientologists contend, the court said Wednesday that it is a non-profit organization and thus need not report to the Italian tax office. The trial was brought after a five-year investigation into activities of Scientology centers in Italy after disenchanted followers filed ...

Look, all you have to do is pull out your checkbook and write a check for $200,000. Oh, and make it out to me. No strings attached. That should give you the inner peace you have been searching for. In return for your donation, you'll receive absolutely nothing, and I'll never ask you for a donation again. True, if you do this, I will lose my job. However, if only five of you send the money, I'll be able to retire. ...

Appalled by ads: I find it appalling that USA TODAY continues to run outrageous, full-page ads paid for by the Church of Scientology. By continuing to run these ads, USA TODAY is aiding and abetting a very vicious and greedy cult — Scientology. Jim Beebe Warrenville, Ill. Enjoys the ads: I have been a Scientologist since 1979. I totally enjoy the ads currently running in USA TODAY. I like your editorials, and wish you continued success and prosperity. ''Nancy Rose Los ...

Four Palm Beach County financial talk-show hosts who tout their expertise on local airwaves have encountered static from customers and regulators for their off-air performance. James A. Barry Jr., Brian J. Sheen, Ken W. Brown and Norm Robbins are among about 20 South Florida financial talk-show hosts who use public airwaves to reach potential customers. But their off-air careers have been the subject of customer complaints and lawsuits or investigations by regulators, a review [...]

The June 1 letter on Prozac by Doug Johnston is another example of the campaign of misinformation that Scientologists are spreading on Prozac and other treatments prescribed by psychiatrists. Johnston refers to research carried out by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. Hubbard initiated his "research" with the premises that all psychiatric treatment is damaging to all patients and that psychological problems can be dealt with only by training the mind to forget, using a form of self-hypnosis. He conveniently ...