* Robert A. Jones' column, "Saved by a Rumor" (July 27) was filled with generalities, slurs (including one that equates the religion of Scientology with colonics) and inferences that the Church of Scientology somehow attempted to sneakily get some "gambit" past the Board of Education in an attempt to "catechize its students." It was also inaccurate in the extreme. The fact of the matter is that L. Ron Hubbard wrote prodigiously in numerous fields. His books on the subject of ...

The Church of Scientology responds to the article "Cult of Personality" which appeared in the last issue of Woroni The anonymous author of the article on Scientology in the last Woroni of March 20, 1997, at least got a few things right: the description and definition of Scientology, the aims of Scientology, that it is a religion and a Church. However, journalistic accountability having been thrown to the wind, there followed a mixture of opinion and fiction. Objectivity died with ...

The truth is, there is no "humane" way to destroy the developing child in the womb. Other than the "partial-birth" abortion, the current methods are: ripping the body apart with a powerful suction machine (sometimes requiring that the child's body be sliced up by a sharp curette before suctioning, depending on the child's size); poisoning the child with a caustic salt solution, causing the child to writhe in pain for a number of hours prior to being violently expelled; or chemical ...

The truth in the McPherson case Re: Five doctors agree with examiner in Scientology death, March 9. A great deal of false information has been circulated by the media concerning the Lisa McPherson case, the most recent of which appeared in the Times with quotes from medical experts purportedly in support of the allegations made by the Pinellas/Pasco medical examiner, Dr. Joan Wood. But as with much else in this case, the truth was not made known, and a false picture ...

To the Editor: Contrary to Scientology's Puzzling Journey From Tax Rebel to Tax Exempt (front page, March 9), the Internal Revenue Service made its decision to issue exemption rulings to the Church of Scientology in 1993 on the merits following the most in-depth examination in the history of the I.R.S. The role of the I.R.S. committee that was formed to address issues involving the church was not to negotiate a deal but independently and objectively to review the church's qualification for ...

The most worrying aspect of the abusive response of the German Government to concerns about discrimination against Scientologists (Victims or Villains? Focus, 1-2/2) is that the actual violations and offences against Scientologists are hardly even entering into consideration, either by the German politicians themselves or media writers (such as Washington correspondent Peter Wilson) who report on them. The treatment of Scientologists has been disturbing for several years, with no just circumstantial but massive instances of their basic rights being violated. There ...

Regarding "An Open Letter to Helmut Kohl" (Advertisement, Jan. 9) and letters (Jan. 16) critical of the advertisement: As the author of the open letter to Chancellor Kohl, I feel entitled to a brief reply to some of the letters you received on that subject. First, our letter never compared modern Germany, as a whole, to the Nazi regime, and we certainly never compared the treatment of Scientologists to the treatment of Jews during the Holocaust. What we compared was the ...

I refer to the article "Ex-Scientologists testify to suffering" (C-M, Oct 4). Scientologists and non-Scientologists alike have come out in defence of the religious persecution in France. First, the French Government blows up the Rainbow Warrior, then despite world condemnation, they expose the Pacific to atomic fallout. Now we have them deciding that a new religion has become too popular and a threat to their hypocrisy. Scientology may be new and controversial but no one can deny it is the fastest-growing ...

The article regarding the renaming of Berendo Street to L. Ron Hubbard Way (Aug. 23) omits the reason that Hubbard should be honored and the reason the church initiated the petition over a year ago. The man is being honored for the work that he did as an educator, his breakthroughs in the field of drug rehabilitation and his other contributions to mankind. The Los Angeles Church of Scientology is making this request after celebrating our 40th anniversary and completing ...

As the mother of an ex-Scientologist, I believe if Henry Bartnik (S-H 19/5) researched official records he would find the autobiographical accounts of Scientology founder Ron Hubbard to be grossly inaccurate. The problem with Hubbard's achievements in education and science is his lack of scientific process. His work is not subject to ongoing public discourse, criticism and reproduction with controlled studies. His most damning legacy is a policy which effectively suppresses critical analyses internally, and attacks external critics with vengeance. Hubbard, ...

In response to the comments made about the George Street Volcano (Nightmare on George Street, S-H 26/5), I wish to make certain facts clear. My company, Woodbridge Associates Pty Ltd, owns the lease on the volcano. We are leasing some of the screen time to New Era Publications, not the Church of Scientology. New Era Publications is advertising the Dianetics book on the screen. They are the publishers of the works of L. Ron Hubbard. There have been no breaches of ...

In "BU's Scientology Connection" (News, April 19), Dan Kennedy tried to make an issue out of Scientology by questioning whether Mr. Earle Cooley, an attorney who has represented the Church of Scientology and is also a Boston University trustee, is a Scientologist. Next, Kennedy will be inquiring whether the president of IBM is a Catholic or demanding how many New York judges are Muslims. Kennedy tries to hang his anti-Scientology diatribe on Mr. Cooley's representation of the church, but he cannot ...

DIDN'T YOU KNOW THAT HATE IS OUT? I would think that as a magazine so into the "in thing" to do, you would keep your prejudices to yourself ["Intelligencer: Next: A Dianetics Theme Restaurant?," May 8]. The Hard Copy piece got it right: The negative labeling of religious groups like Scientology is bias. And having the Cult Awareness Network comment on any religion would have been akin to having the KKK discuss the benefits of black people. If you had any ...

In regard to the April 10 Letters to the Editor from Marcia Rudin and Herbert Rosedale that accompanied my letter in response to the criticisms of Scientology in a March 22 article: For Ms. Rudin to use the word "cult" shows a mentality of bigotry that should be foreign to Americans aware of the Constitution. Our war with bigotry is over, as is the conflict over religious recognition. The IRS's full recognition of the churches of Scientology has been done after ...

One thing was undisputed in your March 22 page-one article, "How Allstate Applied Scientology Methods to Train Its Managers," about management seminars delivered to agents at Allstate Insurance Co.: the management technology developed by L. Ron Hubbard works. As one of the sales managers who took the seminar summed it up, Mr. Hubbard's management technology is "very powerful in its simplicity." This sentiment is echoed by hundreds of thousands of business owners, executives, employees and professionals around the world. It seems ...