Editor: There was an editorial in the Saturday, Nov. 17 edition of the Sun entitled, "The right to be heard," which stated among other things that the Sun doesn't acknowledge the First Amendment rights of Scientology to be recognized as a religion even though several government bodies including the IRS have so ruled. The editorial then proceeded to assert that the Sun takes the Constitution very seriously. This presents a discrepancy which I don't think can be easily disregarded. Scientology is ...

How much evidence do area law enforcement agencies need before launching a full-scale investigation of the Church of Scientology? Apparently the agencies hereabouts are a lot less responsive than they are in Ontario, Canada. The same sworn statements alleging criminal activity on the part of the locally-headquartered sect given to authorities in the Tampa Bay area have prompted action by the Ontario Provincial Police and resulted in the dismissal in California of a civil suit against former Scientology archivist Gerald Armstrong. ...

Former officials of the Church of Scientology say they helped L. Ron Hubbard, the reclusive founder of the cult-like organization, to secretly divert more than $100 million from the church into foreign bank accounts he controlled. The organization, long a subject of investigations in this country, Britain, France, Australia, South Africa, Spain and elsewhere, has maintained that Mr. Hubbard cut his ties to it in the mid-1970's, that he has received only a token consulting fee of $35,000 annually since then ...

Editor: Reports appearing in the Sun about the religious status of the Church of Scientology in Germany are incorrect. The current clumsy attempt by the German government is to DEecertify a fully certified religious group, the Church of Scientology. The world has seen a similar attempt before. Reynhard Heinrich of the German SS wrote a letter in 1937 instituting a decertification campaign against Catholic sects, evangelical ministers and Baptists in Germany. It was a prelude to the genocide that was to ...

The Church of Scientology faces mounting legal pressure in courts worldwide to explain its actions, policies, beliefs and inner workings. In the United States, Canada and Europe, Scientology is under ever-increasing scrutiny by law enforcement agencies, courts and even governments. And a ruling handed down last week by it Los Angeles Superior Court judge may complicate the legal proceedings involving the Clearwater-based sect. Judge Paul G. Breckenridge stated in an intended ruling Thursday that Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard is the ...

Eighteen months ago, the U.S.-based Church of Scientology launched a global—and unsuccessful—campaign to prevent publication of a Reader's Digest report called "Scientology: Anatomy of a Frightening Cult." The church engaged a detective agency to investigate the author, Digest Senior Editor Eugene H. Methvin. Digest offices in a half-dozen nations were picketed or bombarded with nuisance phone calls. In Denmark, South Africa and Australia, the church sued unsuccessfully to prevent publication. In the months since the article appeared, in May 1980, a ...