Leah Remini sues Church of Scientology and David Miscavige for alleged harassment, stalking and defamation

Actress Leah Remini, a former Scientologist turned outspoken critic, alleges in a lawsuit the Church of Scientology has 'subjected' her to 'psychological torture'

Ashley Hume
Fox News
August 3, 2023



Leah Remini announced she has filed a lawsuit against the Church of Scientology and its leader David Miscavige for harassment, stalking, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress in addition to other unlawful conduct.

The 53-year-old actress revealed in a Twitter post she had filed the lawsuit and linked to her Substack, where she shared a press release accusing the defendants of "mob-style operations and attacks" on her and other alleged victims.

The "King of Queens" star became a Scientologist at 9 years old but left the church in 2013 and has since become an outspoken critic.

"For 17 years, Scientology and David Miscavige have subjected me to what I believe to be psychological torture, defamation, surveillance, harassment, and intimidation, significantly impacting my life and career. I believe I am not the first person targeted by Scientology and its operations, but I intend to be the last," Remini said in the press release.

LEAH REMINI DISAGREES WITH HOW LAURA PREPON LEFT SCIENTOLOGY: ‘NOT EVERYBODY WHO HAS A VOICE USES IT’



Remini also attached her complaint in her Substack post. The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court Wednesday and names the defendants as the Church of Scientology, Miscavige and Religious Technology Center, Inc. In the press release, Remini alleged the Religious Technology Center "manages policing operations and principally enforces Scientology’s punishment orders."

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Church of Scientology for comment.

The press release stated that the lawsuit "seeks to require Scientology, and any entity it controls and funds, to cease and desist its alleged practice of harassment, defamation, and other unlawful conduct against anyone who Scientology has labeled as an 'enemy.'"

According to the complaint, Remini is also seeking punitive and compensatory damages for the "enormous economic and psychological harm" she alleges the Church of Scientology, Miscavige and the Religious Technology Center inflicted on her personal life and career.

The press release stated that the lawsuit concerns the actions of Scientology's Office of Special Affairs (OSA), which it alleges engages in monitoring both Scientologists and those outside the religion and takes retaliatory actions against individuals deemed an "enemy" of Scientology. The retaliatory actions are allegedly a "series of directives" known as OSA Network Orders issued by the late founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard.

"Under the organizations’ rules, directives originating from Hubbard cannot be changed," the lawsuit states. The complaint alleges Remini and her family, friends and professional associates became the target of "coordinated campaigns" that were "financed and ordered" by Scientology leaders starting in 2006 while she was still a member of the church.

According to the release, the "attacks" carried out by "OSA and its operatives" were intended to "totally restrain and muzzle," "obliterate," and "ruin utterly" Remini.

"With this lawsuit, I hope to protect my rights as afforded by the Constitution of the United States to speak the truth and report the facts about Scientology. I feel strongly that the banner of religious freedom does not give anyone license to intimidate, harass, and abuse those who exercise their First Amendment rights," Remini stated in the release.

In her Twitter post, Remini wrote, "While advocating for victims of Scientology has significantly impacted my life and career, Scientology’s final objective of silencing me has not been achieved.

"While this lawsuit is about what Scientology has done to me, I am one of thousands of targets of Scientology over the past seven decades.

"People who share what they’ve experienced in Scientology, and those who tell their stories and advocate for them, should be free to do so without fearing retaliation from a cult with tax exemption and billions in assets.

"The press has a right to report about Scientology without facing a sophisticated intelligence operation from Scientology to destroy their personal lives and their careers. Law enforcement authorities have a right to investigate crimes in Scientology without fear that they will lose their jobs," she added.

"Children, mothers, fathers, aunts, and uncles have a right to request welfare checks on their family members without fear of an operation activated against them by Scientology for doing so. Those in the entertainment business should have a right to tell jokes and stories without facing an operation from Scientology which uses its resources in Hollywood to destroy their lives and careers.

"With this lawsuit, I hope to protect the rights afforded to them and me by the Constitution of the United States to speak the truth and report the facts about Scientology without fear of vicious and vindictive retribution, of which most have no way to fight back."

Since her departure from Scientology, Remini has spoken out against the religion in her 2015 memoir, "Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology." The following year, she served as host and co-producer of the A&E documentary series "Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath," which ran for three seasons and won two Primetime Emmy Awards.

Miscavige, 62, was nowhere to be found in December when multiple attempts were made to serve him with a child trafficking lawsuit filed by three former Scientology members that names him as a defendant. According to court documents filed at the time, process servers attempted to serve papers to Miscavige 27 different times over the past few months.

In February, U.S. Magistrate Judge Julie S. Sneed ruled Miscavige was "actively concealing his whereabouts or evading service" and declared that he had been officially served, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Ashley Hume is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to ashley.hume@fox.com and on Twitter: @ashleyhume



https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/leah-remini-sues-church-scientology-david-miscavige-alleged-harassment-stalking-defamation

 

Danny Masterson used drugging, Scientology to get away with rape, prosecutor says

Andrew Dalton
CTV News
The Associated Press
May 16, 2023

Danny Masterson drugged women's drinks so he could rape them, then relied on his prominence in the Church of Scientology to avoid consequences for years, a prosecutor told jurors Tuesday in closing arguments at the actor's trial.

"The defendant drugs his victims to gain control. He does this to take away his victims' ability to consent," Deputy District Attorney Ariel Anson told the jury of seven men and five women. "You don't want to have sex? You don't have a choice. The defendant makes that choice for these victims. And he does it over and over and over again."

The 47-year-old former star of "That '70s Show" is on rape trial for a second time after the first ended in a mistrial in December, with a jury hopelessly deadlocked on all counts. The new jury is expected to get the case Wednesday morning when prosecutors complete their final rebuttal.

Masterson has pleaded not guilty to raping three women at his home between 2001 and 2003. His attorney, Philip Cohen told jurors during his closing that inconsistencies in the women's stories that he said Anson downplayed are essential and should make it easy for jurors to have reasonable doubt of Masterson's guilt.

"She did a very nice job of ignoring many of them," Cohen said. "What she views as little inconsistencies are at the heart of trying to determine, `Is somebody, reliable, credible, believable enough for a criminal conviction?"'

He dwelled on one woman testifying that Masterson pulled a gun from a nightstand at one point during the night she said she was attacked, though there was no mention of it in the report from her initial police interview. She insisted she had told police about it then. Cohen said that alone was enough to crater her credibility and introduce reasonable doubt that Masterson is guilty.

Anson took aim at the Church of Scientology, of which Masterson is a member and all three women are former members, throughout her argument, emphasizing that church authorities kept the women from accepting what had happened to them and from reporting it to police for years.

"The church taught his victims, `Rape isn't rape, you caused this, and above all, you are never allowed to go to law enforcement,"' she said. "In Scientology, the defendant is a celebrity and he is untouchable."

The church has denied having any policy discouraging members from going to law enforcement.

Actor Leah Remini, a former member of the church who has become one of its most prominent public opponents, sat in the courtroom, her arm around one of the accusers, who testified during both trials that Masterson raped her in 2003.

"Why have we heard so much about Scientology?" Cohen said in his closing. "Could it be because there are problems with the government's case?"

He emphasized an instruction that said jurors could not hold his religion as a sign against his character, and a stipulation from both sides that no evidence was presented at trial that Masterson had harassed the women.

Cohen said Claire Headley, a former Scientology official who testified as a prosecution expert in an element not allowed at the first trial, had credibility problems based on an unsuccessful lawsuit against the church and a relationship with Remini.

"She came with a bias and a motive," Cohen said.

Anson guided jurors through the testimonies of all three women. One is a former girlfriend who said Masterson raped her five years into their relationship in 2001. The two others are women he knew through social circles surrounding the church.

The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they have been sexually abused.

All three testified that they became unusually groggy and had gaps in consciousness and memory after consuming drinks Masterson gave them. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo allowed the prosecution during the second trial to directly say he drugged the women, after only allowing descriptions of their states at the first.

There is no forensic proof of any drugging. The investigation that led to Masterson's arrest did not begin for about 15 years after the women say they were raped. Anson told jurors the women's accounts and the testimony of a police toxicology expert who described symptoms should be enough.

"What is not here is evidence of drugs," Cohen said in response. "Miss Anson presented a case as if she was arguing a drugging case. Maybe it's because there is no evidence of force or violence."

Cohen argued that the women contaminated their testimony by communicating with each other after the police investigation began in 2016.

Anson said during her presentation that the women had no reason to lie and that it is not plausible that they were engaging in a "grand conspiracy" to get Masterson.

Cohen said he was "not claiming some grand conspiracy."

"It is a tweak here, a massaging a word there, a saying something over here," the defense attorney said. "That's what contamination really is."

Cohen also said civil lawsuits brought by the women are evidence they have a financial incentive.

"If you're looking for motives why they might not be truthful, there are motives all over the place," he said.

Fewer than half of jurors voted to convict Masterson on any count after the first trial.

His attorney emphasized Tuesday that even if they believe it is likely he is guilty, they must acquit.

"If you say, `I think he is probably guilty,' you know what that leads to?" Cohen said, then made a buzzer sound. "Not guilty."



https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/danny-masterson-used-drugging-scientology-to-get-away-with-rape-prosecutor-says-1.6401629

Scientology leader David Miscavige concealed whereabouts, federal judge says

The church’s top official is formally served in a Tampa lawsuit after lawyers for the plaintiffs tried 27 times to notify him.

Tracey McManus

Tampa Bay Times
February 15, 2023

A U.S. magistrate judge has ruled that Church of Scientology leader David Miscavige was “actively concealing his whereabouts or evading service” in a federal trafficking lawsuit and declared him officially served in the case.

Judge Julie S. Sneed noted that opposing attorneys had gone to significant lengths to serve Miscavige with the lawsuit filed in Tampa federal court last April. Valeska Paris and husband and wife Gawain and Laura Baxter allege they were trafficked into Scientology as children and forced to work for little or no pay as adults.

Process servers tried to deliver court documents to Miscavige 27 times between May and August at 10 church properties in Clearwater and Los Angeles and were turned away by security. During a meeting on Jan. 25, attorneys for the Baxters and Paris asked Miscavige’s attorneys if they would accept service for their client. They declined.

Parcels with the court papers sent by certified mail to Scientology properties were returned to sender with unsigned return receipts, refused at the location or lost in the mail.

“For years, David Miscavige has succeeded in evading accountability,” according to a joint statement from attorneys John Dominguez and Zahra Dean, who represent Paris and the Baxters. “(The) ruling brings our clients — who alleged to have endured unimaginable abuses in Scientology as children and into adulthood — one step closer to getting their day in court and obtaining justice against all responsible parties.”

Scientology spokesperson Ben Shaw called the magistrate judge’s findings “erroneous” and said “Mr. Miscavige never evaded service.”

“The case is nothing but blatant harassment and was brought and is being litigated for the purpose of harassment — hoping that harassment will extort a pay day,” Shaw said.

Sneed’s order, issued Tuesday, officially deems Miscavige served in the lawsuit and is a win for the former church workers, who already successfully served five church entities also named in the case. But a glaring question remains over the complaint’s fate.

In July, the church entities filed motions to push the lawsuit into arbitration, stating all three plaintiffs signed agreements during their time in Scientology to settle any future dispute internally, not in the U.S. justice system.

At a hearing in November, attorneys for Paris and the Baxters argued they signed the arbitration agreements under duress and fear of punishment, making the clauses unenforceable.

On Monday, District Judge Thomas P. Barber stated that further arguments are needed on whether the court can decide the issue of duress at all or whether it must be determined through arbitration.

He ordered both sides to submit memos no longer than 10 pages by Feb. 27 on whether the duress argument may be determined by a court in the first place. Then each side can submit a rebuttal no longer than five pages by March 3.

In the meantime, Sneed’s order declaring Miscavige served gave him 21 days to file a response to the trafficking complaint.

Although Florida law requires defendants to be personally served in litigation, Sneed explained that an exception allows for substitute service through the Florida secretary of state for “nonresidents and individuals concealing their whereabouts.” The plaintiffs completed this by sending the complaint and paying a filing fee to the Secretary of State and sending notice of that to Miscavige, according to the order. The attorneys failed to secure a return receipt, but Sneed excused that requirement due to Miscavige’s refusal of service.

In a previous motion, Miscavige argued he should not be served in the Tampa case because he is a resident of California and that the plaintiffs had not proven he is engaged in business in Florida as an individual or that their claims arise from his business in Florida.

Sneed rejected that argument, hinting at the complex structure of the Scientology organization.

Although Miscavige is not an officer, director or shareholder of most of the church entities, Sneed said the plaintiffs adequately allege the entities have continuous business in Florida and that they are “controlled by Miscavige individually and serve as his agents.”

Many of the plaintiffs’ allegations stem from the time they served on the Freewinds, a Scientology ship in the Caribbean that hosts events and delivers high-level church services to parishioners. However, they also cite the time they lived in Clearwater and allegedly were forced to perform unpaid work as children at church facilities.

Sneed ruled the plaintiffs adequately alleged that Miscavige and the church entities were sustained by and profited from the labor the former church workers performed inside and outside the state.

“Miscavige is alleged to direct and control these operations ‘at a considerable level of detail,’” Sneed wrote.


TRACEY MCMANUS 
Clearwater and Scientology Reporter

https://www.tampabay.com/news/clearwater/2023/02/15/scientology-leader-david-miscavige-concealed-whereabouts-federal-judge-says/

Attorneys ask federal judge to end Scientology leader's 'cat and mouse game'

In a lawsuit against the church, Judge Julie S. Sneed will consider arguments on whether David Miscavige can be served with papers.


Tracey McManus Times staff
Tampa Bay Times
January 20, 2023


TAMPA — For months, Church of Scientology leader David Miscavige has played “a cat and mouse game” by evading formal notices in a human trafficking lawsuit, according to Manuel Dominguez, an attorney representing three former church workers.

In a Tampa federal courtroom on Friday, Dominguez said the three attorneys in attendance representing Miscavige could “end this now” by disclosing where their client lives.

“This is just a game, and I don’t think it should be,” said Dominguez, a partner at Cohen Milstein in Palm Beach Gardens.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Julie S. Sneed tried too, asking Miscavige attorney Joseph Terry for an address, with no success.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys asked Sneed to declare Miscavige served, considering their 27 attempts between May and August to deliver court papers to the Scientology leader at 10 church locations in Clearwater and Los Angeles. After a 90-minute hearing on Friday, Sneed said she will take both sides’ arguments under advisement before issuing a ruling.

The leader is a defendant in the case, along with several church entities.

The three former members of Scientology’s full-time workforce, the Sea Org, allege they were trafficked into the church as children and forced to work through adulthood for little or no pay. Valeska Paris and husband and wife Gawain and Laura Baxter, who filed the complaint in April, left the Sea Org in 2009 and 2012, respectively.

On Sept. 9, Sneed directed the clerk to issue a summons for Miscavige through the Florida Secretary of State, an alternate way to serve a defendant when direct service is unsuccessful.

But on Friday, Terry argued that attorneys for the former workers have not proven they have authority to serve Miscavige through the Secretary of State because they have not shown Miscavige is conducting business as an individual in Florida.

Dominguez noted that Miscavige “is very much engaged in business here in Florida” and cited his appearance at a New Year’s event at the church’s Fort Harrison Hotel. He also referred to a Tampa Bay Times story that detailed Miscavige’s Jan. 6 phone call with Clearwater interim City Manager Jennifer Poirrier to discuss the church’s real estate plans.

But Terry, co-chair of Williams & Connolly LLP’s First Amendment practice group in Washington, D.C., said Miscavige is a resident of California. He said any business Miscavige conducts in Florida is in the context of his “corporate capacity” with the church, not as an individual.

Many of the former workers’ allegations stem from their time serving on Scientology’s Freewinds ship, which operates in the Caribbean. Terry argued their claims do not arise from Miscavige’s business in Florida but “something that happened on a ship 15 years ago.”

Dominguez countered that Miscavige actively manages the Freewinds and his business in Florida is incidental to his clients’ claims. He said the other church entities named in the lawsuit are located in Clearwater and that “the church itself is his agent,” Dominguez said.

“He and Scientology are the same entity, that’s the way this religion is run,” Dominguez said.

The five church entities named as co-defendants in the lawsuit already have been served and filed motions in July to push the lawsuit into internal church arbitration, where it would go before a panel of loyal church members. A judge has not yet ruled on the church’s request to divert the case out of the U.S. court system.

In the meantime, Dominguez argued his legal team has gone to extensive lengths to serve Miscavige, including hiring a private investigator, researching public records and asking the attorneys representing the five church entities for Miscavige’s mailing address.

When process servers tried to deliver paperwork to the 10 church locations in Clearwater and Los Angeles, security guards refused to accept documents and said they did not know where the ecclesiastical leader of the organization lived or worked, according to court filings.

In declarations filed in the case, former Sea Org members Aaron Smith-Levin and Mike Rinder stated Miscavige lives in a wing of Hacienda Gardens, a gated complex housing Sea Org members on North Saturn Avenue and Keene Road in Clearwater. But Terry said Smith-Levin and Rinder defected from Scientology more than a decade ago and didn’t have direct knowledge of the leader’s whereabouts.

He also pointed to a Dec. 31 YouTube video where Smith-Levin was discussing a police response to a Scientology property in Riverside County, California, and stated Miscavige lives and works there.

But in determining whether the court should declare Miscavige served through the secretary of state, Dominguez said whether he’s a resident of Florida is “not important.” The court, he said, should look at the extensive attempts his legal team has made to find out where he does business.

The law, he said, does not allow defendants “to create an obstacle course to navigate.”

TRACEY MCMANUS
Clearwater and Scientology Reporter



https://www.tampabay.com/news/clearwater/2023/01/20/attorneys-ask-federal-judge-end-scientology-leaders-cat-mouse-game/

Scientology workers signed contracts under duress, their lawyers say

The church disputes that, and now a federal judge will decide if allegations of abuse will be heard by a panel of loyal Scientologists, not the courts.


Tracey McManus
Tampa Bay Times
November 17, 2022

 
Before Gawain and Laura Baxter could leave their posts as workers aboard the Church of Scientology’s religious ship in the Caribbean in 2012, the couple said they had no choice but to sign contracts they didn’t understand.

It was required before a security guard would hand over their passports, immigration records and identification, according to court records.

What they didn’t know, according to their declarations, is that they signed clauses agreeing to bring any future dispute before the church’s internal arbitration panel of loyal Scientologists, not the U.S. court system.

The Baxters and fellow Scientology worker Valeska Paris sued the church in April for trafficking, and now a Tampa federal judge is considering whether to grant the church’s request to punt the lawsuit into internal arbitration.

At a hearing on the motion Thursday, U.S. District Judge Thomas Barber asked both sides to explain whether the former Scientologists signed the contracts under duress. All three were members of the church’s military-style workforce called the Sea Org.

The Baxters and Paris signed their contracts out of “religious obedience,” not duress, argued William H. Forman, an attorney for Church of Scientology International, one of five church entities named as defendants.

He said that falls under a legal doctrine known as the ministerial exception that helps protect churches from claims by religious workers. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled secular courts cannot interfere with it, he said.

Forman said no church official made objective threats to the Baxters or Paris about leaving the church. Signing the documents was required only if they wanted to leave while remaining in good standing with Scientology. He said the former Scientologists had “subjective beliefs” related to their religion about what would happen if they failed to sign the contracts, such as being excommunicated from their families.

“The duress issues here are not black and white,” Forman said. “They are hopelessly intermingled with the religious issues.”

What created duress was fear of punishment conditioned into the Baxters and Paris since childhood, said Shelby Leighton, an attorney with Public Justice, a nonprofit that is part of the team representing the former Scientologists. In the Baxters’ case, because children were not allowed in the Sea Org, Laura Baxter got pregnant with her husband on purpose as a way to begin the process of leaving.

While being subjected to “long interrogations and psychological punishment” during the “routing out” process, the Baxters were held in isolation and surveilled 24 hours a day by security, according to their declarations. During her time in the Sea Org, Laura Baxter said she was also confined to the ship’s engine room, forced to do manual labor and had pay withheld.

Leighton said that physical force is not required to prove duress and that confinement and threat of force is sufficient. “That’s not a subjective fear,” Leighton said. “They’re basically being trapped on the ship until they sign the documents.”

While discussing the issue of duress, Barber asked about a hypothetical scenario in which someone had a gun to a person’s head while they signed an arbitration contract on video and whether that would have to go to arbitration. Forman responded, “Yes, because the agreement says you must arbitrate.”

Paris also served on the ship, called the Freewinds, but was in Australia when she left the Sea Org in 2009. Leighton said Paris experienced the same duress because she had to sign departure contracts with the arbitration clause in order to get her passport back from Scientology.

Barber, the judge, noted that Paris was in a foreign country and needed her passport to be in Australia.

“That is not being told you can’t walk out this door,” Forman said. “It’s a matter of religious obedience.”

Last year, a U.S. appeals court upheld a Tampa federal judge’s ruling that sent a fraud lawsuit brought by former Scientologists Luis and Rocio Garcia into the church’s internal arbitration. The Garcias’ attorney argued the arbitration agreements the couple signed while in the church were “substantively unconscionable” because they were seen as enemies of the church after suing Scientology and could not get a fair hearing.

The appeals court ruled that delving into the fairness of Scientology’s arbitration process would be interpreting religious doctrine in violation of the First Amendment.

In the trafficking case, attorneys for Scientology argued that the Baxters and Paris signed the same arbitration agreements that the U.S. appeals court upheld in the Garcia case.

But in their response, attorneys for Baxter and Paris argued the Garcias never raised the issue of duress. They were lay parishioners who signed contracts while receiving services and were not full-time religious workers.

Barber did not indicate when or how he would rule on Scientology’s motion to compel arbitration.

(Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported the name of Public Justice, an organization working on behalf of the plaintiffs.)

https://www.tampabay.com/news/clearwater/2022/11/17/scientology-workers-signed-contracts-under-duress-their-lawyers-say/

CultNEWS101 Articles: 2/21/2022 (Kingdom of Jesus Christ, Legal, Scientology Arbitration, Obituary, Dr. Herbert Benson, Meditation)

Kingdom of Jesus Christ, Legal, Scientology Arbitration, Obituary, Dr. Herbert Benson, Meditation

CNN: Quiboloy on FBI's most wanted list

"The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has released the "wanted" posters for megachurch leader Apollo Quiboloy and two other church members for sex trafficking charges.

According to the FBI, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ founder is wanted for "his alleged participation in a labor trafficking scheme that brought church members to the United States, via fraudulently obtained visas, and forced the members to solicit donations for a bogus charity, donations that actually were used to finance church operations and the lavish lifestyles of its leaders."

"It is alleged that females were recruited to work as personal assistants, or 'pastorals,' for Quiboloy and that victims prepared his meals, cleaned his residences, gave him massages and were required to have sex with Quiboloy in what the pastorals called "night duty," the FBI said.

It added that Quiboloy has ties to Calabasas, California; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Kapolei, Hawaii.

Moreover, Teresita Dandan and Helen Panilag were also included in the wanted list for their alleged participation in the labor trafficking scheme."

Variety: Church of Scientology Seeks to Undo 'Sweeping' Ruling in Danny Masterson Case

"The Church of Scientology has argued that a California appeals court made a mistake when it granted members a "sweeping and unbounded" right to leave the church.

The California Court of Appeal ruled on Jan. 20 that church members cannot be bound to a perpetual agreement to resolve disputes before a religious arbitration panel after the members have left the faith.

The case arises from allegations against Danny Masterson, a church member and a star of "That '70s Show" who faces a criminal trial on rape charges later this year. Masterson's accusers filed suit in 2019, alleging that the church had orchestrated a "Fair Game" campaign against them in retaliation for going to the LAPD, which included stalking them, hacking their emails, tapping their phones, poisoning their pets and running them off the road.

The church denied the allegations, and it sought to force the accusers to adhere to an agreement they had signed upon joining the church decades earlier, under which they agreed to resolve all disputes in a church-run arbitration proceeding. The appeals court sided with the accusers, overturning a lower court ruling.

"Scientology's written arbitration agreements are not enforceable against members who have left the faith, with respect to claims for subsequent non-religious, tortious acts," the three-judge panel ruled.

In a petition for rehearing filed on Thursday, Scientology's attorneys argued that the ruling is unprecedented and makes several errors.

"This Court became the first in the nation to hold that 'freely executed' religious arbitration agreements cannot be enforced over the First Amendment objections of a party who claims to be a 'non-believer,'" argued attorneys William H. Forman and Matthew D. Hinks. "This holding adopts a distinct rule concerning the enforcement of religious arbitration agreements that discriminates against religions and violates the Federal Arbitration Act ('FAA')."

The church's attorneys noted that courts have repeatedly upheld religious arbitration agreements. They argued that the court's grant of a "right to leave a faith," is "sweeping and unbounded," effectively allowing one party to back out of a valid agreement once they no longer wish to be bound by it.

'The right to leave the faith, as defined by this Court, includes the right to narrow the scope of freely executed contracts containing forum selection clauses that call for resolution of disputes in Church arbitration," the church's attorneys argued. "There is no end to this 'right.' … The 'right to leave a faith' cannot serve as a trump card to void express and unambiguous contractual provisions.'"

Boston Globe: Dr. Herbert Benson, who documented and promoted meditation's health benefits, dies at 86

Pioneer of mind/body medicine bridged the gap between medicine and spirituality.

" ... When Dr. Benson subsequently studied the physiological responses of those who practiced transcendental meditation, "the facts were incontrovertible," he later wrote in one of his books.

"With meditation alone," he said, "the T.M. practitioners brought about striking physiologic changes — a drop in heart rate, metabolic rate, and breathing rate — that I would subsequently label 'the Relaxation Response.' "

He titled his first book "The Relaxation Response," which was a best-seller when it was published in 1975.

That response brought a measure of celebrity. Barbara Walters interviewed Dr. Benson on TV and he testified before Congress about the mind/body relationship.

"Because it was such a great hit, he had the opportunity to become a celebrity author and make gobs of money," Fricchione said.

"He decided no, that wasn't going to be it for him," Fricchione added. "He understood if you choose to go in that direction, you really carve yourself out from being taken seriously as a researcher. That's what he did. He stayed at Harvard and stuck to hard-won research findings."

His key finding was that there are documentable health benefits to meditating for 10 to 20 minutes each day:

Sit quietly and comfortably and pick a word, a phrase, or a prayer that fits within your belief system. Close your eyes, relax your muscles, and breathe slowly, saying your word or phrase as you exhale. Shrug it off if other thoughts intrude — say "oh, well" and return to repeating your word, phrase, or prayer.

The benefits, he said, are wide-ranging.

"Eliciting the relaxation response can help bring blood pressure under control with less medication," Dr. Benson told a psychiatric conference at McLean Hospital in Belmont in 1980.

"Meditation also can reduce extra heart beats in cardiac arrhythmias, can ease circulatory problems, migraine and tension headaches, and is extremely useful in treating anxiety attacks," he said. 'The only side effects are the same as those of prayer.'"

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Should Scientology lose its tax free status?

Download Podcast


The Church of Scientology has always been controversial and it may be about to come under fresh scrutiny.

Australian law still considers Scientology a religion and as a result, it enjoys tax free status here.

Now, some Australian politicians say it's time for an inquiry into whether or not that's fair.

Featured:

Steve Cannane, ABC reporter and author of Fair Game: The Incredible Untold Story of Scientology in Australia
Andrew Leigh, Shadow Assistant Minister for Treasury and Charities

Duration: 20min 40sec
Broadcast: Mon 19 Apr 2021, 4:00am



https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/the-signal/should-scientologys-tax-status-be-reviewed/13307712

State of Baden-Württemberg loses in court against a Scientologist

EU Today
April 16, 2021

SCIENTOLOGY MEMBERSHIP DOES NOT FORWARD ANTI-CONSTITUTIONAL ENDEAVOURS – SCIENTOLOGISTS FOLLOW THE LAW.

The State Administrative Court of Appeal for Baden-Württemberg dismissed the State´s appeal against a positive judgement won by a Scientologist before the Stuttgart Administrative Court.

The statements in the above headline follow from two court decisions in Baden-Württemberg: a judgement by the Administrative Court Stuttgart of 02.06.2020 (file no. 3 K 6690/19) and a recent decision of the State Administrative Court of Appeal for Baden-Württemberg of 04.03.2021 (file no. VGH 8 S 1886/20) which had dismissed the application of the state to grant their motion for leave to appeal.

The state, represented by the State Air Traffic Security Agency, had been tipped off by the State Office for Protection of the Constitution about the Scientology membership of the plaintiff. The agency subsequently adjudicated the Scientologist “unreliable” basing this solely on his long-term religious membership, insinuating that he would thereby pursue illegitimate purposes. Consequently, despite his impeccable conduct, the Scientologist was prohibited from entering the security areas of any German airport. The exercise of his profession in his specialist airport related activities as an electrical engineer had factually become impossible, even though because of his professional skills, he had contributed to the security of airports across Germany and Europe in a very responsible fashion for decades.

Pointing to the Supreme Administrative Court case law on the security of air traffic, the first instance Administrative Court in Stuttgart had already confirmed the following to be factual with regards to the Scientologist: “That the individual conduct of the plaintiff was directed in any way towards the use of violence or that the result of his conduct was directed … to materially damage the protection of the free and democratic basic order, the existence and the security of the Federation and the States, is not evident.”

The plaintiff had credibly demonstrated to the Court, that – just like for any other Scientologist - his membership in Scientology is solely about his spiritual development as a human being. The Stuttgart Administrative Court therefore concluded, that from his Scientology membership, “no factual indicators are evident that the plaintiff pursues or supports or has pursued or supported any anti-constitutional endeavours in the meaning of … the Federal Law on the Office for Protection of the Constitution during the last ten years.”

That the Church of Scientology and their members respect the fundamental principles of the liberal-democracy as protected in the above law, not only follows from the legal obligations in the corporate statutes of the Church but also, inter alia, from the Church´s and its members´ worldwide commitment to human rights as has been evident throughout the past decades.

The State Administrative Court of Appeal has now confirmed the above judgement as final. The blanket insinuation in the agency's appeal that the plaintiff, by reason of his Scientology membership, would “not constantly be willing to respect the legal order” was rightfully rejected by the Appeal Court with the words: “That this can generally be presumed for members of Scientology, is not evident.” As required by the Church of Scientology from all its members, the plaintiff had always respected the law as evident from his impeccable conduct. The Appeal Court also came to the same conclusion as the first instance court with regards to the agency´s second absurd insinuation against the plaintiff and the Church alleging there was “willingness to use violence”. The Appeal Court also set the record straight on this point stating there is “nothing evident” to that effect, “neither for the plaintiff himself nor for the Scientology Organisation.”

Eric Roux, Vice President of the European Office of the Church of Scientology for Public Affairs and Human Rights, commented: “The above court findings have rightfully confirmed that the Church and its members are law abiding. They show that the past discriminatory pillorying against the Church and its membership in Germany by certain state security agencies are nothing but blatant human rights violations. The time is well past that such agencies must be subject to international human rights law standards as provided for in guarantees of international treaties of the UN, the OSCE and the EU Human Rights Convention so that they act to protect what they were established for and not to make a Swiss cheese out of the human rights principles that they were meant to protect in the first place.”

Download Court Judgement.

https://eutoday.net/news/security-defence/2021/state-of-baden-w%C3%BCrttemberg-loses-in-court-against-a-scientologist

Labor flags parliamentary inquiry into Scientology's tax-free riches

Ben Schneiders
Sydney Morning Herald
April 6, 2021

Labor charities spokesman Andrew Leigh has flagged a parliamentary inquiry into Scientology, expressing concerns about its “unprecedented” wealth and shifting of assets into Australia.

The comments come after an investigation by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald found that the Church of Scientology had shifted tens of millions of dollars into Australia from offshore and had made $65.4 million in tax-free net profits since 2013.

Scientology in the US has shifted tens of millions of dollars into Australia

Mr Leigh now backs Greens calls for the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) to investigate Scientology but has also flagged the potential for a federal parliamentary committee to conduct an investigation.

“In the corporate tax space, we’ve been doing a lot of work over recent years on multinational tax avoidance and the practice that multinationals have engaged in, in moving resources into lower tax jurisdictions,” he told ABC Radio late on Monday.

“I think it would be useful for Australians to be assured that the Church of Scientology isn’t practising something similar. Australia doesn’t want to be a tax haven for charities.”

Mr Leigh said it was “appropriate” the charities watchdog “looks very carefully into those activities".

“If the information isn’t forthcoming from the Church of Scientology that satisfies people, then you know we may well go down the path to a [parliamentary] inquiry.”

Greens Treasury spokesman Nick McKim said the party was open to a Senate inquiry “if the ACNC is unwilling to investigate or unable to get its hands on the information it needs”.

“There is a serious need for transparency around the movement of funds across the globe, and how Scientology is using its charity status in Australia,” he said.

The Church of Scientology Australia, in a statement, accused The Age and Herald of reporting “fake news” and said all its funds are “dedicated to the church’s religious and charitable purposes with no need to move them anywhere, except to further those purposes”.

“The sole support for the churches of Scientology in Australia, indeed for all Scientology churches around the globe, derives from the substantial contributions of parishioners. All funds are used to further the churches’ religious and humanitarian mission.”

A spokeswoman for the church, in an email, said Mr Leigh’s comments were based on “false and defamatory reporting”. In recent days, US-based organisations linked to the church have accused The Age and Herald (and this reporter) of inciting religious bigotry, of lying, of quoting anti-Scientologist “extremists” and of even inciting potential genocide against Scientologists.

A parliamentary inquiry would be a significant step. In 2009, former senator Nick Xenophon pushed for an inquiry into Scientology after using parliamentary privilege to detail allegations of serious abuse against former adherents. Scientology denied the claims. That push did not win support from the major parties but a separate broader inquiry was held that recommended the creation of a charities regulator.

Mr Leigh said things have changed since then due to Scientology’s growing wealth, despite its falling number of adherents, and more allegations of abuse, particularly in the US.



“I think we’ve given the Church of Scientology the benefit of the doubt in the past, and increasingly now that the more their assets go up and the less transparent they are, the more concerns are being raised,” he said. “Those who’ve seen the documentary Going Clear I think have been concerned by the way in which the church has operated in the US.”

He said religions are assumed to be delivering a public benefit to Australia.

“But the Church of Scientology is quite unusual now in that it has less than 1700 adherents, according to the last census, and more than $170 million in assets.

“So that means that for every adherent, they’ve got more than $100,000 in assets … I think it would also be useful for the Australian public if the Church of Scientology was to make very clear to Australians what broad public benefits they gain from providing as a community this tax concessional status.”

Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar has been approached for comment.

Ben Schneiders is a multi-award winning investigative journalist at The Age with a focus on workplace issues, politics, business and corruption.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/labor-flags-parliamentary-inquiry-into-scientology-s-tax-free-riches-20210406-p57gvt.html

CultNEWS101 Articles: 11/14-15/2020

Argentina, Catholic Conservative Seminary, Scientology, Legal, Agape Boarding School, LGBT

CRUX: Protests continue in Argentina over decision to close 'conservative' seminary

"Tension continues to grow over the Vatican-ordered closure of a diocesan seminary in Argentina's Mendoza region.

Last week, Bishop Eduardo Taussig released a letter to the faithful, trying to calm down the situation after hundreds of people gathered to pray the rosary in front of the seminary, but it backfired.

The closure of the priestly formation center in San Rafael, Mendoza, was announced in July. Taussig, who supported the Vatican decision to close the facility, traveled to Rome in October to further discuss the matter with the Congregation for Clergy and upon his return said the decision was made and not up for discussion.

Widely regarded as "traditional," the seminary was the formation house for dozens of diocesan priests in San Rafael, some of whom see no justification for the decision and who've publicly challenged it for months during their homilies."

Film Daily: Why does Nicki Clyne still support the NXIVM cult? Find out right here

" ... In a first interview with The Sun, Nicki Clyne revealed she still supports Raniere and the choices she had made, saying, "We made bold choices. I accept that. I was part of a group that really tried to uphold accountability, discipline, honor, & trust amongst women, which is something I think is important and needed.

"I think there were misunderstandings and things that are still misunderstood," Clyne continued. "And, obviously I'm being careful with my words because it's a very sensitive situation and this is the first time I'm speaking about it. Right now the most important thing is that the world knows that I am saying, 'I am proud of who I am and the choices I've made. And I believe that it was very positive for me.'"

NBCLA: Judge Mulls Church of Scientology's Motion After Danny Masterson's Accusers Allege Members Stalked Them

" ... Church attorney William Forman argued that the plaintiffs' decision to sign the agreements prevented them from filing a lawsuit later and claiming they have a right to have their claims heard by a jury.

"Arbitration itself is a limitation on constitutional rights,'' Forman said.

But plaintiffs' attorney Marci Hamilton said the case dealt with the "fundamental right to exit a church'' and that forcing the women into arbitration would be tantamount to subjecting them to religious services against their will, all in violation of their First Amendment rights.

"They would be trapped in a dispute resolution system after they've been raped and left,'' argued Hamilton, who also said the arbitration agreements were one-sided in favor of the church."

The Kansas City Star: 'Mom ... you've got to get me out of here.' Student had night terrors after Agape

" ... Patterson ... believes that he was sent to Missouri after he came out as gay his freshman year. It was tough for his dad, he said, to take that news and his son's choice to explore religions "that were more accepting to being gay."

At Agape, staff members made their attitudes toward homosexuality known.

"I remember them preaching: 'Don't burn the American flags, start burning fags,'" Patterson said. "That was the rhetoric used a couple of times. Then you are sitting there thinking, 'Do these people know?'"

He just waited for the day he could get out and go home."

" ... 'Mom, this place is crazy, you've got to get me out of here.'

Soon after, his parents went through a custody hearing to see who would be responsible for the teen. Patterson recalls speaking with the court mediator for four hours, telling him what life was like at the Christian boarding school.

That mediator, Patterson said, "told the judge it would be detrimental for my mental health to go back to Agape."

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With lawsuit settled, Scientology-linked company will operate small rehab at Trout Run

·        Frederick News-Post 

·        By Cameron Dodd 

Mar 30, 2019

Frederick County has settled a long-running lawsuit with a Church of Scientology-linked real estate company over plans to build a controversial drug rehabilitation center on Catoctin Mountain.

Frederick County Circuit Court approved a joint motion March 20 to dismiss the case of Social Betterment Properties International v. Frederick County over the former’s plans for the Trout Run property, a 40-acre site near Thurmont. SBPI is now moving forward with plans for an eight-bed rehabilitation home based on Scientology teachings that would operate within the property’s long-standing zoning restrictions.

The settlement agreement reached between SBPI and the county allows the company to “do what it’s been allowed or permitted to do all along, and nothing more,” county spokeswoman Vivian Laxton said in an email Wednesday.

SBPI brought the suit over a 2015 Frederick County Council decision to deny a historic designation and zoning exemption for the Trout Run property on Catoctin Mountain. SBPI had purchased the 40-acre property in 2013 with the intention that the Scientology-based Narconon International rehabilitation program would open a 16-bed center there.

That use was not approved under Trout Run’s resource conservation zoning and would have required the council to add the property to the county’s Register of Historic Places. Although the Frederick County Historic Preservation Commission recommended the designation, the council voted against it following a wave of public concern expressed during hearings.

According to a history of Trout Run, gates were installed on the county road that runs through the property to create a private area for President Herbert Hoover to fish. At one of a number of public hearings in 2015 related to the request to get the designation added, SBPI argued that, among other things, the site was a “rare surviving example of an early twentieth-century private recreational camp.”

Under the settlement agreement, Trout Run still doesn’t have the historic designation or any of the accompanying zoning exemptions.

SBPI still plans for the Narconon program to operate at Trout Run, just on a smaller scale, according to attorney Bruce Dean.

“My client, in the spirit of partnership with local government, has chosen to move forward with the operation of an eight-bed residential drug rehabilitation facility that will be operated by the Narconon organization,” Dean said Friday.

Narconon is controversial for its approach to substance abuse treatment, which prohibits medically assisted treatment and psychiatric services in favor of aerobic exercise and long periods in a sauna.

Former program staff and participants have called Narconon ineffective at best and traumatic and deadly at worst. At least four clients of the 200-bed Narconon facility in Arrowhead, Oklahoma, have died since 2009, according to The Oklahoman.

Narconon, meanwhile, sees its service as a part of the solution to the ongoing national opioid addiction crisis.

“We are pleased that we were able to come to an accommodation with Frederick County that will allow the proposed residential drug rehabilitation facility at Trout Run to contribute to the vital work of saving lives and repairing families,” Dean said.

Court proceedings in the litigation against the county have been relatively inactive since 2016. Frederick County Circuit Court judges approved a dozen extensions of SBPI’s deadline to file a memorandum of support for their legal challenge to the county’s decision. In November, Judge Julia Martz-Fisher stayed the litigation to allow the settlement talks to continue.

https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/crime_and_justice/courts/with-lawsuit-settled-scientology-linked-company-will-operate-small-rehab/article_c39940a8-0040-5153-a288-36fb1a1c2a56.html

Judge to Decide if Scientology Leader Must Testify in Upcoming Trial

MyNewsLA.com
July 18, 2018

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge is scheduled to rule next week on whether the leader of Scientology should be compelled to testify in a lawsuit by a former member, who alleges she was coerced to have an abortion at age 17.

Laura Ann DeCrescenzo also claims she was forced to work long hours as a young child.

Lawyers for the church’s Religious Technology Center last week asked that church leader David Miscavige — described in their court papers as having a role analogous to the pope in the Catholic Church — not be subject to a subpoena.

They asked Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Mooney to quash the subpoena filed by DeCrescenzo’s lawyers, on the grounds that Miscavige’s testimony would not be relevant to the claims leveled in the lawsuit, filed by DeCrescenzo in April 2009.

“(De Crescenzo) never has met Mr. Miscavige, never communicated with him and never had anything to do with his activities, or he with hers,” the RTC court papers state.

“Plaintiff’s last-minute attempt to drag Mr. Miscavige into these proceedings not only is pure harassment, but would seriously interfere with his ongoing worldwide exercise of his unique religious responsibilities and commitments, thereby impeding the operation of a church with congregants throughout the world.”

Mooney did not immediately rule on the motion to quash Miscavige’s subpoena, and scheduled a hearing for Monday.

The trial will have two phases, beginning with a non-jury trial Aug. 13 before Mooney to determine whether DeCrescenzo acted reasonably in waiting so long to file her lawsuit. If he rules in her favor, a jury would decide on liability and damages.

The church is a defendant along with the RTC. The suit’s allegations include forced abortion, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, unfair business practices and wage-and-hour violations.

Although now-retired Judge Ronald Sohigian previously dismissed the case, a three-justice panel of the 2nd District Court of Appeal reversed that decision in June 2011, and sent the case back to the judge to determine whether the church was permitted to raise the statute of limitations as a defense.

According to a sworn declaration by DeCrescenzo, she began volunteering to do church work at age 6 or 7 in Orange County. She says that at age 7, she was part of a Scientology group organized to picket the very civil courthouse where trial of her lawsuit will take place.

She claims the demonstration showed the church’s ability to “go to every length to bring down people who filed lawsuits” against the institution, whose followers include actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta.

“I believed that if I took any action against the Church of Scientology — whether filing a lawsuit or even speaking negatively about the Church of Scientology — that I would be subjected to severe retribution, including significant financial penalties and loss of my family,” DeCrescenzo stated.

When DeCrescenzo was 12, she was recruited to join the organization’s elite Sea Org group, which she said is responsible for overseeing the delivery of the religion worldwide.

DeCrescenzo alleges she was initially required to work daily from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and that two more hours were later added to her work day. DeCrescenzo says she remained with Sea Org until 2004, when she was 25.

She says she was told she could not leave Sea Org and was released from duty only after she pretended to attempt suicide by swallowing bleach.

DeCrescenzo alleges she became pregnant in February 1996 and was convinced by the church to abort her fetus to show her allegiance to Sea Org.

JUDGE TO DECIDE IF SCIENTOLOGY LEADER MUST TESTIFY IN UPCOMING TRIAL was last modified: July 18th, 2018 by Contributing Editor



https://mynewsla.com/crime/2018/07/18/judge-to-decide-if-scientology-leader-must-testify-in-upcoming-trial/

FSB officers raid St. Petersburg Church of Scientology

RAPSI

March 28, 2018

ST. PETERSBURG, March 28 (RAPSI, Mikhail Telekhov) – Searches are conducted at the premises of the Church of Scientology of St. Petersburg, the press service of Federal Security Service’s (FSB) regional directorate reports Wednesday.

The raids are directed to identifying more items and documents confirming the criminality of the religious organization leaders’ actions, according to the statement.

Currently, the Church of Scientology of St. Petersburg leader Ivan Matsitsky and chief accountant of the religious group Sakhib Aliyev are in detention. The organization’s executive director Galina Shurinova, chief of the official matters department Anastasia Terentyeva and her assistance Constance Yesaulkova are under house arrest. They stand charged with illegal business, inciting hatred and enmity, violation of human dignity.

According to investigators, from 2013 to 2016, the organization received over 276 million rubles (about $5 million) for rendering its services. However, the Church of Scientology of St. Petersburg has not been incorporated under the law, an FSB representative said in court earlier.

Dianetics and Scientology are a set of religious and philosophical ideas and practices that were put forth by L. Ron Hubbard in the US in the early 1950s.

The scientific community never recognized it as science.

A resolution passed in 1996 by the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, classified the Church of Scientology as a destructive religious organization.

The Moscow Regional Court ruled in 2012 that some of Hubbard’s books be included on the Federal List of Extremist Literature and prohibited from distribution in Russia.

http://www.rapsinews.com/news/20180328/282333928.html

Church of Scientology of Budapest scores major legal victory

Court declares raid and seizure at the Church unlawful, and grants no appeal.

Church of Scientology Budapest protected by the Budapest District Court on raids by National Security

Ivan Arjona Pelado
Blasting News
February 25, 2018

In a significant decision, today the Church won a major victory when the Central District Court of Buda declared that the raid on the Church by the National Bureau of Investigation (NNI) was unlawful.

As a result, the National Bureau of Investigation (NNI) has to return hundreds of boxes of unlawfully seized documents and IT tools.

Court found raid violated rights

#The Court found that the raid and seizure conducted on October 18, 2017, violated the constitutional rights of the Church by being coercive and restrictive.

The #Church Of Scientology and its legal representatives filed legal objections which were first rejected by the Capital City Prosecutor's Office but overturned by the Court today which annulled the decisionof the NNI and the Public Prosecutor's Office.

The court emphasised that the investigating authority fundamentally violated the principle of necessity and proportionality as laid down the law. Therefore this court decision may also be of value to other authorities who made the same violations in regards to the Church of Scientology, says lawyer Istvan Szikinger.

"We are very pleased with the court's decision and we are confident that the entire procedure will be resolved rapidly in our favour, with our constitutionally protected rights fully restored", said Attila Miklovicz, spokesperson of the Church.

Peaceful demonstrations

Scientologists and friends from all over Europe and including the United States have done many peaceful demonstrations in Budapest, reminding the Hungarians the different atrocities that specific people using the power of governments have done throughout the Hungarian history.

The European Office of the Church of Scientology for Public Affairs and Human Rights, directed by the Ivan Arjona-Pelado, has also been denouncing the situation at the OSCE in Warsaw and to the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, explaining and providing data and facts of the different discrimination acts of which Scientologists have been subject by very specific people within the Hungarian government including from the one who should have been protecting the privacy of Scientologists and all citizens.

The Scientology religion in Hungary was first recognised as such since the beginning of its existence and is one of the very few religions that has managed to survive and keep growing despite the repressive changes that the authorities have done with their law enacted on 2011. Its growth in Europe and worldwide is non-stop and keeps adding new churches and charitable activities all over the world.

https://uk.blastingnews.com/europe/2018/02/church-of-scientology-of-budapest-scores-major-legal-victory-002350991.html

Scientology bosses to copyright key phrases

Colin Coyle
The Sunday Times
February 11 2018


The Church of Scientology in Ireland wants to register 15 trademarks for phrases such as “the bridge to total freedom”, which critics believe is further evidence of a planned expansion.

Members of the church have previously said they use trademarks and copyright laws to protect their reputation and prevent parodies or the subversion of their message.

Last week the Irish Patents Office received applications to register trademarks from the Religious Technology Center in Los Angeles, the organisation’s headquarters. The application states the trademarks, which include abbreviations such as HCO (Hubbard communications office) and NED (new era dianetics), are to safeguard the use of these expressions in books, flyers, websites and training courses.

Other phrases for which they want protection include “solo auditor”, “personal efficiency course” and “Scientology life improvement course”. Several relate to various stages on “the bridge to total freedom” — a term used by adherents to describe advancement in the religion.

Anyone who believes the trademarks infringe their own copyright has three months to oppose the applications.

Pete Griffiths of Ex-Scientologists Ireland, a group of former members, said the scientologists used trademarks and copyright to prevent critics from subverting their scripture. Griffiths believes the church plans to gain acceptance in Irish society. “According to the last census, there were 87 scientologists in Ireland, hardly warranting their massive investment, unless there is some other underlying motive,” he said.

Representatives for the Church of Scientology did not respond to queries.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/scientology-bosses-to-copyright-key-phrases-sb5ztbm0c