Church leaders say the German official is a "fascist demagogue'' who has stoked a hate campaign. She says they exaggerate. CLEARWATER — The battle between the Church of Scientology and the German government, a long-running dispute steeped in emotion and international politics, has come crashing into Clearwater with a visit by a controversial German official. Ursula Caberta, who heads a government office in Hamburg that works to curb Scientology in Germany, said Tuesday at a downtown news conference that Scientology is ...

DEREK PEDLEY was right to point out that the makers of the SBS program on Scientology last week were not followers of the religion (Today, 9/5), but what was not pointed out was that they did not ask any Scientologist about any of the wild allegations they made against the church and individual Scientologists, nor did they back up any of their allegations with any proof. This disgusting program aired by SBS (which violated its own charter to be "sensitive and ...

John Travolta is a staunch supporter. So are many other Hollywood celebrities and it is from them that The Church of Scientology gets its best publicity. Yet while the promotion comes through association with high-profile names, there is rarely a lot actually discussed about the church. That is set to change with this French documentary (narrated in English and featuring subtitles) that examines the relationship between the Church of Scientology and the law in France, Germany and the United States. Incorporating ...

RELIGION in all its forms sparks intense debate but none more so in recent times perhaps than the Church of Scientology. A relatively young religion created by science fiction author Lafayette Ron Hubbard, Scientology's profile has risen sharply with the support of such high-profile acting identities as John Travolta and Juliette Lewis. Yet while most people would have an opinion on the church's ideology, there rarely seems to be much open debate about it in the social arena. That changes next ...

I REFER to the Mercury (April 1) and the article "Friends friendly for top dollar" by John Michael Howson. Yet again the founder of Scientology, L Ron Hubbard, was misquoted: "If you want to become a millionaire, set up a religion." The actual author of this quote was George Orwell who wrote in a letter to his friend in 1938: "But I have always thought there might be a lot of cash in starting a new religion, and we'll talk it ...

BERLIN – A Microsoft spokesman called reports that the software maker has turned over its closely guarded Windows 2000 source code to the German government "just a rumor," but would not deny that the company has disclosed technical secrets in a probe of the operating system. "I can't confirm that we're sharing [the source code]," said Microsoft Germany's Thomas Baumgärtner after German news organizations reported this month that the company had offered federal authorities the opportunity to inspect its source code. ...

THE MOST MAIL Daily Variety has received this year about a single article has come in response to a story that the newspaper will never run. The subject was Scientology and its influence on Hollywood. The story was in the process of being researched by our film editor, Dan Cox, who recently left the paper to accept a job as a literary agent without finishing the article. In approaching his story, Cox was impressed by the fact that the Scientologists, who've ...

Scientology leaders say they want peace. They say they want to stay out of court. But with both foes at home and foes abroad, that goal may be elusive. The spiritual home of the Church of Scientology is in Clearwater, but for many years now its leaders have had worldwide ambitions. But as disciples have carried L. Ron Hubbard's teachings away from America's shore, the reception has been almost universally chilly at best – and at times openly hostile. At one ...

outside Celebrity Centre; newspaper article titled “Scientology–A Long Trail of Controversy”; another shot of Celebrity Centre; part of newspaper article title “struggle for credibility” VO: Over its rocky 45- year history, Scientology has driven for mainstream acceptance. DAVID MISCAVIGE (interview): People have been searching for thousands of years for spiritual release and freedom, and what we have in Scientology is the answer. How to achieve that. JOHN TRAVOLTA (on movie set in Army camouflage outfit): Ultimately, the whole purpose is to ...

Crowd of people outside Celebrity Centre in Los Angeles; picture of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman VO: The high profile role of Scientology’s celebrities– which include America’s most popular actor, Tom Cruise– adds to Scientology’s mystique. footage of Travolta being presented with a “1998 Celebrity with glamour of the year” (?) award from somebody (glass trophy with red and blue hand prints painted on it) JOHN TRAVOLTA (on movie set in Army camouflage outfit) (voice of and on camera): I’m part ...

CLARIFICATION is required regarding the article on Scientology (June 21), as no German court decision exists which states that Scientology is not a religion, while 36 local and regional courts there have held that it is a bona fide religious community. It appears that the German courts have had to shoulder the whole burden of being objective and just. The Government inquiry on new religions was roundly condemned by parliamentarians and scholars and solidly lampooned in Spiegel magazine as "a kindergarten ...

The Church of Scientology has launched a countrywide personal attack against a University of Alberta professor who has publicly criticized some of their practices. Sociology professor Stephen Kent was the subject of a scathing article in a 16-page Church of Scientology supplement entitled Freedom that was distributed with the Globe and Mail newspaper Friday. In the two-page article, Kent is compared to well-known neo-Nazi hatemongerer Ernst Zundel and is referred to "as the academic point man for the voices of hate ...

The United Nations special rapporteur on religion has asked Germany to make clear why it has placed the Church of Scientology under surveillance. The rapporteur rejected allegations by the Scientologists that Germany's attitude towards them is reminiscent of the Nazis. But he warned that the emotional debate about new religious movements may lead to prejudice, and asked Germany to begin a campaign against religious intolerance. The German authorities say surveillance of Scientologists is necessary because of what they call the movement's ...

WASHINGTON – After years of holding the U.S. government in contempt, the Church of Scientology is enlisting members of Congress, the U.S. State Department and even President Clinton to advance its agenda in foreign lands. Prodded by the Scientologists' paid lobbyists and its cadre of sympathetic entertainers, several lawmakers and the Clinton administration have criticized the German government for allegedly discriminating against Scientology practitioners. They even got their argument against Germany to the floor of the House of Representatives last November. ...

Germany has apologized to Switzerland following the arrest of a German official who's suspected of spying on the Church of Scientology there. The official who works for a government security agency in the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg has now been released on bail, but Swiss prosecutors say he remains under investigation. He faces charges of carrying out illegal business for a foreign state, working for a political information service and falsifying identity documents. Germany does not recognize Scientology as a religion ...

There are some Germans out there who don't trust John Travolta. Not only that, at least one of these Germans - actually a member of Germany's parliament - doesn't at all like the idea of Travolta talking with the president of the United States or his national security adviser, Sandy Berger, about the state of U.S.-German relations. The reason this German lawmaker worries about the popular movie actor getting to see the president and his advisers is that Travolta is a ...