[Re. Couple who feels scammed v. Carly Crutchfield, Scientologist]

* Scientologists warned over "detox" therapy * Cure-all can kill people with kidney problems * Church on recruitment drive in indigenous towns THE Church of Scientology is targeting alcohol-dependent Aborigines with a "drug bomb" therapy which the church has been warned could kill people with kidney problems. The Scientologists this week responded to a warning by the Northern Territory Health Department and stopped distributing literature which promotes a dangerous drug detoxification therapy. The group has been moving through remote Australia on ...

HERE'S the thing. depending on your outlook, Kate and Emmanuel Foundas are either two of the nuttiest and potentially most sinister people you will ever meet, or a charming, successful, savvy couple with a social conscience. In Australia today very few, however, would allow them to be both once they learnt their religion. Yes, you guessed it, they are Scientologists. And not just dabblers. These guys are hard-core. Kate, 55, gave up an international career as a dressage rider and trainer ...

PASADENA, Calif. — The opening of a Scientology center in this city’s Old Town neighborhood was a significant local event. Church members spent $10 million to buy a historic four-story building and $6 million more to restore it to its 1906 luster before a gala dedication ceremony on July 18. But the Pasadena project is just one part of a much larger undertaking for the church: the creation of about 50 new centers in 16 countries. The global real estate firm ...

The Independent Complaints Review Panel (ICRP) has not upheld a series of complaints made against a Four Corners program, broadcast on 8 March 2010, titled “Scientology: The Ex-Files”. The program investigated aspects of the activities of the Church of Scientology, following the call for a government inquiry into the Church by Senator Nick Xenophon in 2009. The complaint about the Four Corners program included three elements: the way in which the Rehabilitation Project Force (RPF) was described; disclosure of information ...

Concerns have been raised about a partnership between the Federal Government and a drug awareness group run by members of the controversial Church of Scientology. Corporate lawyer and researcher Grainne O'Donovan said the partnership could potentially be used by the church, through Drug Free Ambassadors Australia (DFAA), to try to recruit members from schools and youth groups. The DFAA-sponsored by Scientology - is a partner in the government's National Compact set up by former Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd in March within ...

A federal parliamentary committee has recommended the creation of a charities commission. The commission would ensure charitable and religious organisations were open and transparent. They would also need to be able to prove they deserved a charitable status. Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has welcomed bipartisan support for the commission, saying organisations such as the Church of Scientology are on notice. "I believe reform is now inevitable. We can't continue to have business as usual when it comes to organisations that have ...

AUSTRALIAN of the Year Prof Patrick McGorry is among a number of top psychiatrists who have been targeted by the Church of Scientology after they spoke out against the religion. The University of Melbourne professor, with Monash University's Prof Louise Newman and Prof Ian Hickie, director of the Brain and Mind Research Institute at the University of Sydney, publicly backed calls by South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon in March for a senate inquiry into Scientology. They have since received requests under ...

RECEIVERS for the failed Letten Group have recovered $13.31 million from the sale of an historic Flinders Lane office and retail building. Savills agents Clinton Baxter and Nick Peden sold 167-173 Flinders Lane at auction yesterday, in front of a crowd of about 250 people. The property, on the southwest corner of Hosier Lane, was previously controlled by Mark Letten and celebrity health expert Dr John Tickell, who paid $3.67 million for the asset in September 2001. A permit to build ...

NOT far from where I live stand two semi-completed townhouses, their derelict state an invitation to the bulldozer and a reminder of somebody's inability to service a dream. St John's Cathedral stood incomplete for nearly a century and, while far from derelict, it too was a dream of religious grandiosity beyond the capacity of its parishioners. Unlike my near-neighbours, the Anglican Church was able to rally supporters to fulfil its dream. Among them was the Federal Government, which kicked in a ...

Believe it or not, Senate Inquiries can generate all sorts of humorous exchanges. A hearing earlier this week into the Tax Laws Amendment (Public Benefit Test) Bill generated so much laughter at one point, you could be forgiven for thinking you were watching ‘Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure’ instead. It went something like this. When discussing the impact of the introduction of a Charities Commission in New Zealand, the Church of Scientology’s New Zealand Secretary, Michael Ferriss, explained that the organisation’s ...

An investigation is underway to determine whether controversial religious sect, The Church of Scientology, should be taxed on its proceeds. We look at the pros and cons.