Tessa Mayes is the first reporter to have gone undercover in the London Celebrity Centre of the Church of Scientology. It is, she finds, like a pious version of Pop Idol. The adherents want to be celebrities at least as much as Scientologists ‘A culture is only as great as its dreams and its dreams are dreamed by artists,’ wrote L. Ron Hubbard, who founded the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre in 1969, 15 years after he formed the church itself. ...

Scientology has started a new propaganda offensive in Europe, opening new offices in capitals across the continent. German authorities are responding by increasing their efforts to monitor the controversial organization. At first sight, the building in Berlin's Charlottenburg neighborhood looks like a run-of-the-mill office complex: a functional, seven-story construction covered with glass windows. The young receptionist is dressed in black and wears a futuristic-looking headset. But for Scientologists, the building is a chapel, a place for studying their own doctrine and, ...

The Church of Scientology is moving its offices and worship center to downtown Kansas City and has purchased a historic former bank building at 1801 Grand Blvd. The church plans to occupy the former City Bank Building later this year and then sell its current facility at 39th and Main streets. The global religious organization was founded in the early 1950s by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard and includes among its members Hollywood stars Tom Cruise and John Travolta. The ...

By his account, Tom Cruise owes his cool head, defeat of dyslexia and, in a way, his unstoppable stardom to Scientology. But Scientology has much to thank Tom Cruise for as well. His glowing adherence to Scientology and the initiation of his bride-to-be, actress Katie Holmes, into the off-beat and oft-maligned system of beliefs has stirred a surge of interest. The search engine company Lycos reported that “Scientology” had leaped into the top 50 search terms last week for the first ...

Narconon program has proven success For years an enemy has insidiously attacked us in Hawaii – drugs and drug abuse. Our keiki, neighbors, co-workers, our ohana have been grabbed by this monster and dragged down into the depths of human experience. No one is immune. It is hard to confront. Confronting a family member strung out on meth, I would not wish on anyone. Watching children get lured by advertising into the clutches of "innocent drugs" such as alcohol or marijuana ...

[...] Leave no movie star behind: Church of Scientology cause celeb Tom Cruise slipped into town this week for private meetings with senior Bush administration officials at the Department of Education and the White House. On Thursday, Education Secretary Rod Paige hosted a lunch for Cruise – a conspicuous supporter of Bill Clinton before President Bush took office – so the actor could gab with education officials in the secretary's dining room. "He wanted to learn more about the president's 'no ...

The Saturday afternoon church gathering was restful at best. A scriptural reading carried a timely message, warning that when religion declines in society, the state assumes the role as arbiter of public morality, and do we really want that? A little ritual of rapid-fire questions had us focusing on our self-centered tensions as leader Amy Suzuki directed us consciously relax "parts of body that you don't have to police." The setting featured a bust of L. Ron Hubbard, scientist and science ...

Strange Death in a Strange Land The Old Man in the Desert He had achieved success beyond his wildest dreams; wealth, fame and the adulation of thousands of devoted adherents. Yet for the last five years of his life, L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology, dwelt, a virtual prisoner of his own paranoia, a recluse in self-imposed exile, on a ranch in the desert of Creston, California. Surrounded by a handful of trusted aides, he handed over the running of his ...

David Miscavige, the seldom-seen leader of the church, comes forth in his first newspaper interview to talk of a more peaceful time for Scientology. LOS ANGELES — When David Miscavige recounts his rise to power in the Church of Scientology — a journey that began when he quit high school at age 16 — it is mostly a story of war. War against renegade Scientologists. War against Scientology’s critics. War against its one-time arch enemy, the IRS. But Scientology’s 38-year-old leader ...

(Gerry Armstrong is my friend now that we are both out of Scientology, and I have already told him this story. I have told him how sorry I am for my part in trying to destroy him when I was still an OSA staff member. I’ve told several other people this story as well, and they have urged me to share it because it is such a classic illustration of how far DM and his cronies are willing to ...

* 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 ...

When L. Ron Hubbard penned his ground-breaking book, Dianetics, a shot rang out in Hollywood. The book, now available in more than 32 languages, has sold over 16 million copies since 1950. It has also attracted legions of famous followers to its Church of Scientology in Hollywood and its castle-like Celebrity Centre located in the heart of Tinseltown. During John Travolta's Golden Globe acceptance speech, for example, the church member — long rumored to be gay — thanked L. Ron Hubbard ...

Being a native of Harlingen, a member of its school board since 1992, a professional in private dental practice for the last 13 years serving my community, I find it deplorable that my hometown newspaper diminishes the good work of its children while allowing one of its reporters to manufacture controversy where none exists. This letter is to clarify the facts which were incorrectly reported in Kate Mewhinney's article which appeared in Monday's edition of the Valley Morning Star. Those facts ...

A news story on the front-page of today's Star concerns a matter of long-standing debate: What should public schools teach our children, particularly in the realm of morals and values? The current debate focuses on the efforts of two Harlingen dentists, one of whom is a member of the Harlingen school board, to make available to teachers copies of the booklet, The Way to Happiness: A Common Sense Guide to Better Living. The booklet is written by L. Ron Hubbard, founder ...

HCISD board member distributes material with Scientologist links in classrooms A coalition of Harlingen minister has taken a stance against an essay contest for schoolchildren based on a book written by Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. The Harlingen Ministerial Alliance, which is made up of representatives from about 12 churches in Harlingen, said it is opposed to the distribution of The Way to Happiness booklets as part of the essay contest. "If this group is permitted in classrooms, then ...

Two years ago, an Allstate agent stood up at Sears's annual meeting to ask what then seemed a bizarre question. "To what extent," he inquired, "are the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard's Church of Scientology present today in Allstate and in Sears?" Edward Brennan, chairman of Sears, Roebuck & Co., and Wayne Hedien, then-chairman of Sears's Allstate Insurance Co. unit, both appeared bewildered. Mr. Brennan said he had no knowledge of any relationship at all. Mr. Hedien said he didn't even ...

GRAHAM E. BERRY, State Bar No. 128503 GORDON J. CALHOUN, State Bar No. 84509 LEWIS, D'AMATO, BRISBOIS & BISGAARD 221 N. Figueroa Street, Suite 1200 Los Angeles, California 90012 Telephone: (213) 250-1800 Attorneys for Defendants UWE GEERTZ, PH.D. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA No. CV 91-6426 HLH (Tx) DECLARATION OF VICKI AZNARAN RE: MOTION FOR COSTS Date: APRIL 4, 1994 Time: 10:00 a.m. Courtroom: 7 CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY INTERNATIONAL, Plaintiff, VS. STEVEN FISHMAN and UWE GEERTZ, Defendants. —– ...

Kate Ceberano and Nicole Kidman join Scientology, the fastest-growing religion in the world - and one of the weirdest Showbiz types find religion - in a church founded by sci-fi writer by Terry Bourke Two showbiz babies are the latest celebrity recruits to the strange Scientology sect. And one is the centre of anger among Elvis Presley fans. The innocent babies know nothing of the controversial cult which will rule their lives - but their parents do. Partners Tom Cruise and ...