Jason Beghe, the "G.I. Jane" actor who left the Church of Scientology in April after 14 years, is testifying about today in Hamburg, Germany. Beghe has been invited by Germany’s Department of Interior Affairs to be part of a three hour seminar on Scientology in Hamburg called, "That is Scientology! Reports from the USA." The program will begin with an 11 a.m. press conference followed by three hours of in-depth lectures from 5 to 8 p.m. All of this is organized ...

Reacting to a DW-WORLD.DE report on German film projects about Scientology, the organization's press spokesperson in Berlin said she doesn't like the way Scientology is portrayed. A DVD film for schools showing statements by Scientology leaders in the United States and drop-outs in Europe is anything but objective, said Sabine Weber, the spokeswoman of Scientology in Berlin. She added she feels that young people get indoctrinated by the Lutheran church in Germany which had no small share in the film coming ...

Film companies in Germany are now making attempts to look behind what they believe is the true nature of Scientology. The movies are primarily aimed at young people, who are most likely to fall for the organization. Young people tend to be the first to fall for Scientology and are therefore much courted by the group's scouts across the nation. This is where a new, 25-minute film by the Matthias Film company comes in. It shows interviews with Scientology leaders, former ...

A German court has deemed that the country's government is within its rights to watch over the Church of Scientology. But the debate over whether Scientology is a sect or a genuine religion is sure to continue. An administrative appellate court in Muenster handed down the verdict in the case, brought by the Scientology organization, which challenged an early decision allowing government surveillance. The Muenster judges found that the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution was within its authority ...

In a four-year-old video that was much watched on the internet this week, the actor Tom Cruise mentioned various leaders he had met around the world. "They want help," he said, "and they are depending on people who know, and who can be effective and do it, and that's us." The "us" in question is the Church of Scientology, the newfangled faith founded by the late American science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in 1953. A recent biography by Andrew Morton asserts ...

[Picture]'All lies': Cruise is considering a lawsuit Star's fury over claims by Diana author Andrew Morton: • Daughter by Katie Holmes "conceived like Rosemary's Baby" • Nicole Kidman "feared blackmail" over sex tapes made with Scientologists • Scientologists "planted meadown of flowers for Tom and Nicole to run through" • Cruise's next mission is to recruit David Beckham Tom Cruise has become the de-facto second in command of the Church of Scientology, according to a new biography - which makes an ...

The Associated Press article, "Germany Officials Call For Scientology Ban" that ran in the Tribune Dec. 10 omits the fact that the German Ministers of Interior conference Dec. 7 did not vote for a motion to instigate procedures to ban Scientology. Instead, those officials recognized that there is no evidence to support such a motion. Furthermore, Federal Minister of Interior Wolfgang Schauble in an interview with German Radio, also on Dec. 7, conceded that there is no legal basis for such ...

The interior ministers of Germany's 16 states have launched an investigation into the activities of the Church of Scientology, hoping to assemble evidence to support banning the U.S.-based organization from operating in Germany. But skeptics question whether such a move is politically and legally tenable — or wise. A similar move by state-level interior ministers in 1997 concluded in a report that "the Scientology organization, agenda and activities are marked by objectives that are fundamentally and permanently directed at abolishing the ...

The homeland of legendary church reformer Martin Luther said over the weekend it will seek to ban the Church of Scientology – an organization considered to be in conflict with Germany’s constitution. High level German officials, including all 16 state interior ministers, agreed to give the nation’s domestic intelligence agency the job of preparing necessary information to ban the organization, which is considered by most Christians a cult, according to The Associated Press. The ministers, including federal Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, ...

WOLFGANG Schaeuble, the German interior minister, launched a verbal assault against the Church of Scientology yesterday, accusing it of trying to gain political power. Mr Schaeuble and the country's 16 state interior ministers have declared Scientology unconstitutional. And in a newspaper interview, he said: "Scientology is working in Germany to secure political power and influence. Fundamental rights, including human rights like the right to equal treatment, are limited or abrogated. The democratic system is rejected." Mr Schaeuble and his state counterparts ...

Germany's domestic intelligence agencies are warning that an effort by the country's interior ministers to ban Scientology could fail. They say the group has failed to gain a foothold in German society and that there isn't enough evidence to support freezing its activities. A plan by Germany's state interior ministers to attempt to ban Scientology appears to have little chance of success. According to an assessment made by officials at the country's state and federal intelligence agencies, the Offices for the ...

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble launched a verbal assault against the Church of Scientology on Sunday, accusing it in a newspaper interview of trying to secure political power and influence in Germany. A spokeswoman for Scientology in Germany dismissed Schaeuble's allegations as "insane". Schaeuble and the country's 16 state interior ministers declared Scientology unconstitutional on Friday, opening the way for a possible ban on the organisation. "Scientology is also working in Germany to secure political power and influence," ...

The Church of Scientology vowed yesterday to invoke America’s help in its battle against the German government, which declared it unconstitutional last week in the first step towards an outright ban. Sabine Weber, president of the church in Berlin, said the organisation would drag the German government through the courts and expected to win, with support from the US State Department. “Criminal examinations [in the past] all ended in our favour,” said Weber. Last Friday the German government gave the security ...