It was a strange way to describe an aspect of a theology. But L. Ron Hubbard, the highly successful science-fiction writer who founded the Church of Scientology in the 1950s, had little tolerance for those who challenged his beliefs. And so it was, at one time, that Scientology scripture came to include an unusual litigation clause: "The only way to defend anything is to attack, and if you ever forget that, then you will lose every battle you are ever engaged ...

Is the Church of Scientology a religion, or a multimillion-dollar corporate cult? Some former Scientologists have spoken of spending thousands of dollars or working long hours without food or sleep to pay off debts to the church. The church characterizes itself as misunderstood and persecuted, emphasizing testimonials and community outreach activities, while attempting to discredit critics. "Scientology is a racket," says Bloomfield Hills attorney Constance Cumbey, who has handled four Michigan lawsuits against the church. "That's not to say that everyone ...

ST JOHN Ambulance is refusing to accept donations from the Church of Scientology. The announcement is another rebuff for the cult after Queen Victoria Hospital, and Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital also turned down proceeds from the cult's recent Saint Hill summer fete. John Mills, communications director of the volunteer organisation's London head office, said flatly: "We do not want to give credibility to an organisation of which we do not approve. It could bring the good name of St John ...

CONTROVERSY this week continued to cloud tomorrow's Saint Hill summer fete. Other groups have now denied links with the Church of Scientology event after Queen Victoria Hospital last week refused to accept cult money from the proceeds. Advertisements and flyers pushed through East Grinstead letter boxes say the fete, with John Travolta topping the bill, will be opened by Radio Mercury. But the station's programme director, Martin Campbell, denied it would attend the event at the organisation's headquarters. He stressed: "Radio ...

Scientologists and QVH Hospital says: We don't want anything to do with them WE HAVE noted, with some concern, an advertisement by the Church of Scientology for an event purporting to raise money for our hospital. This advertisement appeared without our knowledge or permission. We have written to this organisation asking them not to use our name in any way. Through this letter we would like to make clear that we have no relationship whatsoever with this organisation and will not ...

JOHN WOOD wants to tell your children the truth about drugs. He is the UK president of an organisation which claims it has been educating young people about the dangers of addiction for 25 years. It claims that message had been successful, and it claims it can also help those who have already fallen to drugs and drink. In fact, Narconon makes rather a lot of claims, and the group has targeted Sussex with literature and glowing tributes from grateful "clients". ...

TEENAGER David McLaren is in hiding, after breaking free from the Scientology cult. "I'm the one who got away," said the brave 18-year-old, who came forward to help Scots girl Christine Forsyth. "I found freedom, now I want Christine to enjoy that same freedom", he said. Last week we told the shocking story of how 24-year-old Christine, from Kirkcaldy, was "tried" for "treason" by the mind-bending cult. HER CRIME WAS SPEAKING TO AN "OUTSIDER". Christine's distraught dad begged the cult to ...

IT IS portrayed as a typical private school. But the glossy Greenfields brochure, which boasts of academic success and a happy environment for children, does not tell the whole story. One important word is missing from the booklet - Scientology. It is also missing from: * The handbook issued by the Independent Schools Information Service, which describes Greenfields as inter-denominational. * The Independent Schools Yearbook, which it is listed as non-denominational. * The school's 27-page constitution lodged with the Charity Commission. ...

A heartbroken father begged the world's biggest cult yesterday: "Let my daughter go." And Eddie Forsyth wept when he learned that daughter Christine had been subjected to a nightmare ordeal at the hands of the Scientologists. A Mail investigation has discovered that the cult's "thought police" branded her a traitor for talking to an outsider. Blond Christine was hauled before a kangaroo court and convicted of "treason". Beans Experts believe she would have been sentenced to hard labour, ordered to wear ...

NARCONON, THE drug rehabilitation group which has close links with the controversial Church of Scientology, allegedly "duped" Tower Hamlets Council into referring an alcoholic to them. Both the Council and the drug agency which placed the addict on Tower Hamlet's behalf said that they would not be referring anyone else to the group. The Church of Scientology has been consistently criticised by cult watchdogs for its recruitment techniques and financial dealings. Narconon's rehabilitation method is based on the teachings of L. ...

A BRISTOL man is suing an organisation which he claims taught him to lie and reject his family, whilst charging him over £7,000 for the pleasure. John Simpson, aged 24, (not his real name) is a former member of the controversial cult of the Church of Scientology or Dianetics, as it is otherwise known. He finally 'escaped' last month after seven months in the group. If you had quizzed him last year about his involvement with Scientology, he would probably have ...

[Picture / Caption: RESOLUTION — "I think the judge just wanted to bring an end to this case," says Graham E. Berry, right, with Gordon J. Calhoun.] For years, the Church of Scientology has been synonymous with bitter litigation battles. But the 40-year-old religious organization, long known for its aggressive legal tactics, threw in the towel recently on a federal lawsuit in Los Angeles that it had been waging against two critics. Besides serving as a legal setback, the action in ...

[Picture / Caption: The founder: L Ron Hubbard.] Scientologists have been active in Chichester for at least 10 years and their English base is in East Grinstead. They stepped up their role in the city after their Portsmouth offices closed a few years ago. The cult was founded in 1950 by American science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, who had been involved in black magic. Its main beliefs is that humans are 'thetans', clusters of spirits who were banished to Earth ...

They never broke into church buildings or planted electronic bugs, but for the past 13 years, undercover Clearwater police detectives have investigated the Church of Scientology. They never developed a case against the church that was prosecuted. The work ranged from gathering Scientologists' names to seeking refunds for dissatisfied parishioners. Police once stormed Scientology headquarters after hearing anonymous allegations - unfounded, it turned out - that Scientology children were being strapped to gurneys and given electric shocks. The investigation boils down ...

THE Church of Scientology, one of Britain's largest cults, is being prosecuted by a local authority for failing to ensure one of its largest communes is safe for human habitation. The Independent has been leaked documents from the church headquarters that show it may have misled safety inspectors over the number of adults and children living in the commune. The church, founded by L Ron Hubbard, an American science fiction writer, after the Second World War, has its European headquarters in ...

DECLARATION OF MARGERY WAKEFIELD I, Margery Wakefield, having personal knowledge of the following, hereby declare: 1. I was a member of the Church of Scientology of California from October of 1968 until February of 1980. I joined the Church in Los Angeles, California, where I was primarily based although I also took courses and/or worked at Church organizations in St. Louis, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Georgia and Miami, Florida. 2. While in Scientology I progressed to the level of OT 3 (an ...

When Carol Burgeson received a copy of "The Way to Happiness" in the mail 18 months ago, she read it through and decided it was the perfect non-religious vehicle for teaching moral values to her senior students at Thornton Township High School in Harvey, Ill. So Burgeson ordered more free copies of the book by L. Ron Hubbard and used them to stimulate discussions in her classes. "It seemed so harmless," she says. "Brush your teeth, do your work, don't be ...

The organization adds one property and plans a 2,500-seat auditorium for another in Clearwater. CLEARWATER — The Church of Scientology added a 13th property to its list of Clearwater holdings Monday and unveiled plans to build a 2,500-seat auditorium that will be available to be rented for public events most of the year. Scientology officials said the auditorium, being designed as part of a $40-million building planned for the former Gray Moss Inn site, will play an important role in downtown ...

A former Scientologist says she lied to get a job with Ontario Provincial Police so she could steal secret documents for her church. Kathy Smith said she joined the Church of Scientology in 1972 and spent nine months in southern England learning church policy. Later, she was recruited by the Guardian's Office, an inner council of the church, to infiltrate the police force, court was told yesterday. Smith was testifying at the trial of five Scientologists and their church on charges ...

Church of Scientology intelligence officers in the 1970s were "complete zealots" prepared to use illegal means to attack critics, a former official has testified. "Within Scientology, we were completely indoctrinated and did believe that everything we did was 100 per cent right. Our minds were completely altered," Bryan Levman told an Ontario Court, general division, jury. Testifying in return for immunity from prosecution, Levman said he thought at the time it was justified in having "plants" infiltrate Metro police and other ...

The Worldwide Institute of Scientology Enterprises has sued other critics in the past, but now they are taking on a religious group for the first time. "I just don't think they realize potentially what kind of Pandora's box they are opening here," says Craig Branch, southeast director of Watchman Fellowship (WF), one of the groups being sued. "One of the questions is whether Christian organizations have the right . . . to publicly speak out against groups that are in conflict ...

In October of 1989, a private detective was called into the Church of Scientology's offices in Los Angeles and asked to conduct an investigation in Northern California. Ted Heisig, a non-Scientologist based in Orange County, said he was led into a room and shown five file cabinets filled with documents Scientology had been collecting for years. The subject: Werner Erhard, founder of the worldwide self-awareness movement known as est. "They had contacts (in the file cabinets) dating back to his childhood ...

A man who called a news conference Monday in Los Angeles on the 13th anniversary of the Jonestown massacre told reporters that he had falsely claimed to be a survivor of the Guyana tragedy in order to raise "hundreds of thousands of dollars" for the Cult Awareness Network in Chicago. Gary Scarff said that network personnel encouraged him to tell untrue stories about surviving the blood bath that claimed 914 lives in order to finance their cult deprogramming work. Cynthia Kisser, ...

A four-year investigation into the negligent practices of a former Vacaville dentist has left two dentists without their licenses and two more reprimanded by the Board of Dental Examiners. Former dentist Gregory Hughes' license was revoked because of "numerous counts of unprofessional conduct, including gross negligence, incompetence, repeated negligent acts, dishonesty, fraud, deceit and patient adandonment, involving 15 orthodontic patients," according to the board's press release distributed Tuesday. Hughes, who made waves in the local dental community in the mid-1980s with ...