A religious booklet sent to his office makes it seem that Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz officially endorses the musings of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Mayor Katz's image and the official City of Winnipeg logo appear on the back cover of the 68-page booklet, which implores readers to observe life lessons such as "do not take alcohol to excess," "don't be promiscuous," "preserve your teeth" and "don't do anything illegal." The booklet, called The Way to Happiness, purports to be "presented ...

The six-story building that houses the New York headquarters for the Church of Scientology is located on 227 West 46th St., reserving its place amid an ever-bustling, tourist-laden Times Square.Rendering of the new Scientology complex Inside, over 80 staff members work hard on finalizing community service programs for the Church’s most recent real estate purchase: a 50,000-square-foot property on 125th St. in East Harlem. Valued at more than $13 million, the new property is intended to restore Harlem as a center ...

Hollywood star Kelly Preston took time out of filming new comedy Old Dogs with her husband John Travolta, to support a Scientology charity concert in West Sussex. The 45-year-old actress was master of ceremonies at the 11th annual Gala Charity Concert at Saint Hill, home of Scientology founder L Ron Hubbard and headquarters for the Church of Scientology UK. Kelly said: "It was a great day. What we were doing with the concert is perpetuating what L Ron Hubbard started in ...

THE Church of Scientology is preparing to expand its creed to the north of England by opening a centre in Manchester next year. The church, which has been criticised as a cult, has paid £3.6m for a disused distillery in the city. It plans to turn the five-storey building, near Old Trafford, into “a place of worship and religious instruction”. The move is part of a world-wide expansion strategy by the American organisation, which was founded by L Ron Hubbard, a ...

THE CHURCH of Scientology is pressing ahead with plans to convert a Trafford distillery into a "place of worship" for hundreds of followers. The controversial group - whose celebrity members include Tom Cruise and John Travolta - bought the Grade II-listed building on Chester Road for a reported £3.6m. Plans to convert it into a "place of worship and religious instruction" were withdrawn earlier this year when the Trafford council expressed concerns about parking. But the Church of Scientology is planning ...

A WOMAN accused of stabbing to death her Scientologist father and teenage sister was suffering a psychotic episode and is likely to mount a mental illness defence, her doctor said. The 25-year-old, who cannot be named, is facing two counts of murder and a third of maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent to murder over a stabbing at her south-western Sydney home on July 5. The woman, who has been diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder, allegedly fatally stabbed her 53-year-old father ...

The smiling photo of Gavin Newsom and the city seal emblazoned on a booklet called "The Way to Happiness" sure make it seem as though San Francisco's mayor is heartily endorsing Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's writings. The booklet's back cover even shows a letter of support purportedly written by Newsom that echoes some of the mayor's favorite buzzwords: San Francisco is "a city of innovation" and is "the finest city in the world." But the giveaway is in the second ...

SAN FRANCISCO — The city of San Francisco has ordered a Scientology group to stop using a picture of Mayor Gavin Newsom on its promotional materials. A group called the Way to Happiness Foundation International sent a box full of booklets to Newsom's City Hall office describing some of Scientology's core principles. The pamphlets came emblazoned with the seal of the city of San Francisco and featured a picture of a smiling Newsom with a fictitious letter from him. The president ...

No, Mayor Tom Leppert hasn't made the leap from public servant to spiritual healer. And despite the claims of a booklet that landed on his desk at City Hall this week, he isn't endorsing The Way to Happiness. The booklet, so titled and featuring the writings of Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, was sent to the mayor's office complete with the city of Dallas seal and a ringing endorsement purportedly from Mr. Leppert. The front cover features a painting ...

What was intended as a goodwill tour by a visiting group for the Church of Scientology has run into a bit of controversy. The Scientology visit tent in front of the Government building, endorsed by the Government, has remained largely empty since opening last Wednesday. However, a training course was held for a group of police officers and other support servicemen. The visit hit a bad patch when claims were made that the tour received the blessings of the National Council ...

Amidst the controversy over Columbia University's proposed expansion into Harlem, another expansion is occurring with far less protest. The Church of Scientology in Harlem, currently operating out of a storefront space on Third Avenue, recently purchased several buildings on 125th street, where they plan to rebuild and expand the church. Scientology, known for its controversial views and prominent celebrity members, has several churches in Manhattan, the largest of which is here in Times Square. They also have a small church in ...

[Picture / Caption: Joe O'Sullivan, 42, of Queens, and his wife Helena, 33, talk with Jim Woodworth (right), the detox project's president, during a consultation. Joe O'Sullivan's has had health problems since 9/11. The framed towel had been used by patient Tom Bulger.] It's become something of a medical mystery: This detox program shouldn't work, but it seems to. Nobody - from convention doctors to the patients - can explain why, but those suffering severe symptoms after exposure to debris kicked ...

Posted at 03:46 on 05 October, 2007 UTC Samoa’s acting police commissioner says he welcomes the goodwill visit by scientology volunteers who will train police officers in disaster management. Scientology volunteers have put up tents in front of the government building in Apia for their disaster management training over the next two weeks. The goodwill visit has sparked protests among Christians from various congregations who warn about the possible negative impact. The government has expressed its support for the training, and ...

Posted at 06:14 on 04 October, 2007 UTC Hundreds of Christian believers in Samoa from Pentecostal churches and ministries have marched in protest against the government’s support of the Scientology religion. They marched to the front of the government building in Apia where Scientology tents have been put up as the main venue for its disaster training and seminars over the next two weeks. The protesters have called on the government to reconsider its stance to allow the Scientology members into ...

CLEARWATER — The Church of Scientology is in announcement mode again, this time saying it will spend $20-million on a major upgrade of its iconic Fort Harrison Hotel. But what church officials aren't saying is exactly when the work will start. So, expect some eye rolls. That's because across the street from the Fort Harrison is Scientology's seven-story Super Power building. Stuccoed, trimmed and painted on the outside, the huge building is unfinished and vacant on the inside. And, remarkably, it's ...

For those interested in learning more about Scientology off the job, the church is expanding its Chicago presence. The Church of Scientology is setting up shop at the former Artcraft Building in the South Loop, at 650 S. Clark. When the flagship center opens next summer there will be activities, social services and, presumably, auditing. The building’s previous tenants, ACORN and the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, moved out because the space and crumbling façade needed attention that the previous owners weren’t willing ...

A SYDNEY woman charged with stabbing her father and sister to death in their suburban home is seeking to be released to a hospital for patients with mental illnesses. The 25-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was diagnosed with a psychotic illness last year but was allegedly denied treatment by her parents because of their belief in Scientology. In a brief hearing at Burwood Local Court in Sydney's inner-west yesterday, the woman's barrister, John Stratton SC, said he would ...

She was open-minded enough about Scientology, if a bit dubious about some aspects of the life of its founder L. Ron Hubbard. Imagine Carol Tobin's surprise, then, when her hopes of a private jet and a Hollywood career with Tom Cruise were dashed as its adherents appeared to reject her Is it just cynical old me or is Scientology a load of old cobblers or, as we would say here in Ringsend, a load of bullshit? Oh, I can hear the ...

The night clubs, shops and lunch spots of downtown Albuquerque are about to get a new neighbor. The Church of Scientology is in the process of purchasing the Gizmo's building at 410 Central SE near Fourth Street, says Gabriel Rivera, a redevelopment planner with City Planning. "From what I've heard, in other places and other cities, [Scientologists] usually locate in the Downtown areas," Rivera says. Local Scientologists confirmed the deal. Plans for the church are extensive, says Beth Akiyama, director of ...

Several volunteer ministers of the US-based Scientology religion are in Samoa to provide disaster response specialist courses for government representatives and local church councils. The Samoa government and the National Council of churches are the two major organisations supporting the training courses, scheduled to start next week. Numerous Hollywood stars such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta are members of the religion. The followers of Scientology are fighting problems such as disaster management, manmade, natural or personal disasters, communication problems, violence, ...

South Loop residents will soon have a new neighbor-the Church of Scientology. The church's new flagship center of Chicago will move next summer into the former Artcraft Building, 650 S. Clark, and become the hub of Scientology-related activities and social services. "It's going to be a beacon of life," said Allyne Rosenthal, president of the Church of Scientology of Illinois. The new center, which was bought by the church in February 2007 for an undisclosed amount, will include office space for ...

There are moments in life, coincidences, which have the potential to utterly change the direction and meaning of your existence. Of these I have had several; they have all marked me in various ways, but none more so than that fateful late afternoon in Stuttgart, Germany, when an attractive and rather aggressive young woman blocked my path and accosted me with the interrogative; "Do you have a good memory"? This story aims to serve a dual function: Enlighten those who may ...

In the pantheon of D.C. area weird religious places to go and gawk, you’ve got the George Washington Masonic Memorial, the Oz-like LDS Washington D.C. Temple Visitors’ Center and now L. Ron Hubbard’s house. A bold, swanky sign went up less than a week ago in front of 1812 19th Street NW in Dupont, site of the “founding church” of Scientology that Hubbard set up in 1955. The house belonged to the church until the mid-’70s, when it was sold and ...

Recently, the Church of Scientology announced that it was purchasing three buildings on East 125th Street for an estimated $10 million. Since 2003, the controversial religion had been running a mostly overlooked storefront on Third Avenue between 122nd and 123rd streets, but the new expansion marks a major move into Harlem. The buildings will be fully renovated and turned into not only a church, but a community center with the usual Scientology programs: job training, literacy and drug rehab. Media reports ...

The basic theological tenets of the Church of Scientology are well known: a fanatical hatred for psychiatry coupled with a creation myth that involves an evil alien ruler named Xenu and his sundry galactic allies. The basic tenets of its tax policy are somewhat less familiar. But Scientologists promulgated and, at one point, heavily promoted a proposal that would replace all federal income taxes with a national retail sales tax (NRST). And the theology and tax policy aren't entirely unrelated: Xenu ...