EVEN for a religion started by a science fiction writer, the allegations levelled against the Church of Scientology in federal parliament this week sound stranger than fiction. Blackmail, cover-ups of child abuse, labour camps, embezzlement and coerced abortions are spelled out among the 53 pages of allegations by seven former Scientologists - some of whom had climbed high in the church hierarchy - tabled in the Senate. In what the church has decried as "an outrageous abuse of parliamentary privilege", independent ...

KEVIN Rudd raised concerns about the Church of Scientology yesterday, as NSW police began investigating complaints from seven former Scientologists. The Prime Minister said he intended to examine allegations against the church before deciding whether to back independent senator Nick Xenophon's demand for a Senate inquiry. Senator Xenophon told parliament on Tuesday that Scientology was a "criminal organisation" hiding behind religion. In response to that statement, Mr Rudd said the senator was making "grave allegations". "Many people in Australia have real ...

Church spokesman Tommy Davis says the Times' sources admitted they left Scientology because they could not meet the church's strict ethical standards. Now they are lying, he says, and the Times is helping advance their agenda. Here is the Church of Scientology's response to their allegations, submitted as a 10-page letter: + + + CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY INTERNATIONAL 15 October 2009 VIA HAND DELIVERY Mr. Joe Childs Mr. Tom Tobin St. Petersburg Times 490 First Avenue South St. Petersburg, Florida 33701 ...

Published: 6 Aug 09 12:59 CET The Church of Scientology is targeting Berlin and Brandenburg schools for a vague fact-finding mission, sending more than 500 letters to various institutions in recent weeks, daily Der Tagesspiegel reported on Thursday. According to the paper, a Scientologist group called the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) has contacted school leaders with questions about things such as how many of their students suffer from reading deficiencies or behavioural issues, or how many psychologists are on ...

BERLIN (AFP) — German critics savaged Tom Cruise's portrayal of Adolf Hitler's would-be killer in "Valkyrie" ahead of the film's release here this week, but relished a homegrown hero getting the Hollywood treatment. "Valkyrie" has been one of the most keenly awaited new releases in Germany this winter, thanks to the legendary status of its subject – Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg – and a string of controversies during its production. Although expectations were low here for Cruise in the role ...

Potsdam — Germany is dropping its pursuit of a ban on Scientology after finding insufficient evidence of illegal activity, security officials said Friday. Domestic intelligence services will continue to monitor the group, officials said. The German branch of the Los Angeles-based Church of Scientology has been under observation by domestic intelligence services for more than a decade. Top security officials asked state governments in December to begin gathering information on whether they had sufficient grounds to seek a ban. The Church ...

Jason Beghe, the "G.I. Jane" actor who left the Church of Scientology in April after 14 years, is testifying about today in Hamburg, Germany. Beghe has been invited by Germany’s Department of Interior Affairs to be part of a three hour seminar on Scientology in Hamburg called, "That is Scientology! Reports from the USA." The program will begin with an 11 a.m. press conference followed by three hours of in-depth lectures from 5 to 8 p.m. All of this is organized ...

Reacting to a DW-WORLD.DE report on German film projects about Scientology, the organization's press spokesperson in Berlin said she doesn't like the way Scientology is portrayed. A DVD film for schools showing statements by Scientology leaders in the United States and drop-outs in Europe is anything but objective, said Sabine Weber, the spokeswoman of Scientology in Berlin. She added she feels that young people get indoctrinated by the Lutheran church in Germany which had no small share in the film coming ...

Film companies in Germany are now making attempts to look behind what they believe is the true nature of Scientology. The movies are primarily aimed at young people, who are most likely to fall for the organization. Young people tend to be the first to fall for Scientology and are therefore much courted by the group's scouts across the nation. This is where a new, 25-minute film by the Matthias Film company comes in. It shows interviews with Scientology leaders, former ...

A German court has deemed that the country's government is within its rights to watch over the Church of Scientology. But the debate over whether Scientology is a sect or a genuine religion is sure to continue. An administrative appellate court in Muenster handed down the verdict in the case, brought by the Scientology organization, which challenged an early decision allowing government surveillance. The Muenster judges found that the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution was within its authority ...

In a four-year-old video that was much watched on the internet this week, the actor Tom Cruise mentioned various leaders he had met around the world. "They want help," he said, "and they are depending on people who know, and who can be effective and do it, and that's us." The "us" in question is the Church of Scientology, the newfangled faith founded by the late American science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in 1953. A recent biography by Andrew Morton asserts ...

[Picture]'All lies': Cruise is considering a lawsuit Star's fury over claims by Diana author Andrew Morton: • Daughter by Katie Holmes "conceived like Rosemary's Baby" • Nicole Kidman "feared blackmail" over sex tapes made with Scientologists • Scientologists "planted meadown of flowers for Tom and Nicole to run through" • Cruise's next mission is to recruit David Beckham Tom Cruise has become the de-facto second in command of the Church of Scientology, according to a new biography - which makes an ...

The Associated Press article, "Germany Officials Call For Scientology Ban" that ran in the Tribune Dec. 10 omits the fact that the German Ministers of Interior conference Dec. 7 did not vote for a motion to instigate procedures to ban Scientology. Instead, those officials recognized that there is no evidence to support such a motion. Furthermore, Federal Minister of Interior Wolfgang Schauble in an interview with German Radio, also on Dec. 7, conceded that there is no legal basis for such ...