Dec 10, 1999

Church 'fails test' for charity status : The Church of Scientology was yesterday barred from charitable status after the Charity Commission ruled that it failed to promote the "moral and spiritual welfare" of the community.

Nov 15, 1999

French scientologists guilty of fraud : A court in the French city of Marseilles has convicted five members of the Church of Scientology for offering fraudulent courses.

Sep 28, 1999

Travolta flees French cult probe : John Travolta, the actor and scientologist, has cut short a visit to Paris - apparently because he feared he might be called to give evidence in the trial of seven French members of the "church" in Marseilles

Sep 21, 1999

Scientologists on trial for fraud, violence and quackery : Seven Church of Scientology officials accused of fraudulently obtaining money from converts and the illegal practice of medicine went on trial in Marseilles yesterday.

Sep 02, 1999

Like Jonestown in slow motion  : The similarities between the histories of Christian Science and Scientology are striking.

Aug 23, 1999

PEOPLE.com | THE PEOPLE PROFILES : Jenna Elfman has a hard time keeping quiet. Much has been written about whether or not she's really as ditzy as her lead character on the hit sitcom Dharma and Greg, but it's undeniable that Elfman is enthusiastic about life, the universe, Scientology and everything else.

Aug 12, 1999

Review Bowfinger over the top farcical treat  : "Bowfinger" could just be viewed as an out-there, over-the-top spoof about Hollywood, films, celebrities and even the Church of Scientology.

July 13, 1999

Cult or religion: What's the difference? : The Church of Scientology wants to be accepted as a religion - but what's the difference between a religion and a cult?

July 07, 1999

Chef keeps Isaac Hayes career simmering along  : Isaac Hayes became active in the Church of Scientology, which has drawn other notables including John Travolta and Tom Cruise.

Defenders of the faith "Hubbard's writings specifically targeted celebrities for recruitment. "Celebrities are well-guarded, well-barricaded, overworked, aloof quarry," he wrote some time ago. "If you bring one of them home, you will get a small plaque as your reward."

June 09, 1999

Scientologists' copyright suit shapes Net liability : Linking to a site that contains material that infringes someone's copyright also is an infringement, a Dutch court ruled today, according to the Church of Scientology, the plaintiff in the case.

June 09, 1999

Scientologists pay for libel : The Church of Scientology agreed yesterday to pay £55,000 libel damages to a former member the church accused of waging a "hate campaign" against it.

June 08, 1999

ISP Reveals Scientology Critic : In response to a subpoena, AT&T on Monday released the identity of a WorldNet subscriber to Bridge Publications, a corporate arm of the Church of Scientology.

March 30, 1999

Scientologists settle legal battle : Under a settlement reached in a U.S. district court earlier this month, a Colorado-based nonprofit group called FACTNet is permanently enjoined to pay the church $1 million if FACTNet is found guilty of future violations of church copyrights.

Feb 28, 1999

A guerrilla war in cyberspace : Some on the Net call it cyberspace's Vietnam. The battle pits the Los Angeles-based Church of Scientology against a few loosely organized bands of free speech advocates who have taken up what they believe to be the flag of truth.

Feb 26, 1999

Russian Scientologists complain of harassment : The Church of Scientology in Russia has filed a complaint against the Moscow authorities for human rights violations after police raided its offices and questioned several of its members about alleged tax irregularities.

Jan 03, 1999

Travolta Resurrected - British biographer follows trashy trail : Nigel Andrews' unauthorized biography of John Travolta can't resist sniping at Travolta's attachment to Scientology: "An early question for the book was: Can a sane or intelligent person believe in this creed?''

Managing to recruit: religious conversion in the workplace "The link between medically-based practice management companies and Scientology provides an example of the mediation of ideological recruitment through front companies."

Dec 14, 1998

Sect appeal: A&E examines the Scientology phenomenon : If you know little or nothing about Scientology, you'll definitely want to watch A&E's "Investigative Reports" special "Inside Scientology,".

Scientology arm charged in woman's death "Criminal charges have been filed in Florida against an agency of the Church of Scientology in connection with the 1995 death of a 36-year-old woman who was in its care following an apparent nervous breakdown. The church's Flag Service Organization in Clearwater, Florida, was charged November 13 with felony abuse or neglect of a disabled adult and with the unauthorized practice of medicine in regard to the death of Lisa McPherson . McPherson died December 5, 1995, following 17 days at a church-operated hotel in Clearwater after suffering an apparent breakdown following a minor traffic accident. The Pinellas County medical examiner said McPherson, a longtime member of the controversial church, had been deprived of water for as many as ten days prior to her death. The cause of death was listed as a blood clot resulting from dehydration. None of the church members who treated McPherson had a medical license"

Nov 14, 1998

Church of Scientology charged in members death  : The State Attorneys office in Pinellas County filed the felony charges after a lengthy investigation into the 1995 death of Lisa McPherson .

Nov 0 9, 1998

Scientology loses copyright round : The church, through its nonprofit subsidiary Bridge Publications, is suing Boulder-based FACTNet on charges that the group pirated more than 1,900 copyrighted church documents and distributing them on CD-ROMs.

Sep 19, 1998

Church of Scientology Wins $3 Million Ruling : A federal judge in San Jose has awarded the Church of Scientology a $3 million judgment against a persistent critic of the church who published portions of the group's secret scriptures on the Internet. But defendant Grady Ward will not have to pay the full fine as long as he refrains from further publications of Scientology secrets and pays the church $200 per month for the rest of his life, according to settlement papers released yesterday.

Aug 20, 1998

Sky's the Limit : The biggest bump for EarthLink to date has most likely been the continuing flap regarding the company's ties to Scientology--a controversy that refuses to die. Sky Dylan Dayton is a Scientologist, as is his wife, 24-year-old screenwriter Arwen Dayton. Plus, church members provided the seed money for EarthLink, and two Scientologists still sit on the board.

Aug 03, 1998

Is Geri turning to Scientology? : The queen of Girl Power may be supporting another movement after being seen reading the Scientology handbook.

June 20, 1998

Swedish Court rules Scientology Secret Scriptures are public material : The Swedish "principle of public availability" is more important than international copyright.

June 19, 1998

Scientology Homepage factory floods internet : The thousands of Scientology testimonial sites will clog up the search machines used by millions of users to navigate their way through the net.

April 18, 1998

Bob Minton Enemy Number One of Scientology : The father of two daughters has already invested 1.5 million dollars in the battle against the controversial sect, and perhaps he may lose his entire fortune.

April 09, 1998

Swedish royals deny throwing weight behind Scientology : Palace spokesman Cecilia Wilmhardt said old television footage, dating back 10 years, was used with a voice-over saying the king expressed his approval of the work of anti-drug agency Narconon, which is linked to the Scientology Church.

Feb 23, 1998

Travolta tries to stop Scientology film : John Travolta, the actor, has written to Michael Jackson, Channel 4's controller, imploring him not to allow the showing of a documentary on the life of L Ron Hubbard, founder of the controversial Church of Scientology.

Jan 31, 1998

Kinkel rejects U.S. criticism over scientology : The German foreign minister, Klaus Kinkel, has rejected the latest criticism from the United States of Germany's treatment of the Scientology organisation.

Jan 29, 1998

Scientologists in trademark disputes : The Church of Scientology International is accusing two Web sites of trademark violation and is taking action to stop it. The church has threatened to see legal recourse against a Colorado Web site owner if he continues to run a site called "scientology-kills.net," which also sells T-shirts bearing the same phrase.

Dec 31, 1997

$12.5 Million Deal With I.R.S. Lifted Cloud Over Scientologists : The Church of Scientology paid $12.5 million to the Federal Government in 1993 as part of a settlement with the Internal Revenue Service that granted tax-exempt status to the church and ended a long and bitter battle with the agency.

Nov 20, 1997

Scientology film-maker says he is victim of 'subtle harassment' : An American private detective, hired by attorneys acting for the Church of Scientology, has approached friends and relations of the makers of a British television biography of the Church's founder, visiting home addresses discovered by trickery.

June 10, 1997

Sect gets injunction to keep family off property : The Church of Scientology has obtained a British High Court injunction against members of the Fortune family from Co Wexford to stop them entering any of the sect's properties in Britain. The family, says its son Odhrán (24), has been brainwashed by the Scientologists.

April 10, 1997

Scientologists Lose Case Against Germany : European Commission on Human Rights dismisses discrimination suit by Church of Scientology against German Government; the church has complained that Government is treating it as a commercial enterprise, rather than as religion.

March 09, 1997

Scientology's Puzzling Journey From Tax Rebel to Tax Exempt : Internal Revenue Service's surprise decision in Oct 1993 to grant Church of Scientology tax-exempt status reversed a 25-year-old policy and followed church's all-out war on IRS and people who work there; Scientology hired private investigators to probe IRS workers and financed organization of IRS whistle-blowers that publicly attacked agency; IRS decision to negotiate with church came after then-Comr Fred T Goldberg Jr met with church head David Miscavige in 1991.

March 03, 1997

Foiled charity keeps up property search : Residents raised more than £175,000 in less than a week to buy a nursing home and prevent it being taken over by a group whose practices are linked to those of the Church of Scientology.

Feb 28, 1997

Scientology's IFP links : THE controversial Church of Scientology has bestowed a "freedom medal" on Lawrence Anthony, KwaZulu-Natal businessman and confidant of Mangosuthu Buthelezi, shedding new light on the close links between the church and the Inkatha Freedom Party.

Scientology vs. The Net : Dennis Erlich brought stories of personal abuse he had suffered as a Scientologist...Erlich was the first netizen to be raided...

On the Offensive : In 1986, a Los Angeles jury said that Scientologists had employed fair game tactics against former member Larry Wollersheim, driving him to the brink of financial and mental collapse. He was awarded $30 million...The most damaging tactic Scientology used against Paulette Cooper was to forge bomb threats to Scientology itself...An FBI raid on Scientology offices uncovered files of a bizarre plan entitled Operation Freakout.

Defending the Faith : Scientology apparently sent out armies of its followers to buy the group's books at major chains such as B. Dalton's and Waldenbooks. Gary Hamel, a former Dalton's manager, stated that some books arrived in his store with the chain's price stickers already on them, suggesting that copies of the book were being recycled to improve sales figures....L. Ron Hubbard's wife and ten other Scientologists were found guilty of infiltrating, burglarizing and wiretapping more than 100 private and government agencies in an attempt to block investigations of Scientology...Scientology's tactic of infiltrating organizations that they see as enemies eventually spread to Canada. In 1992, the Church was fined $250,000 for spying on police and the government during the 70s. The Toronto branch of the church was found guilty of two counts of breach of trust for operating a spy ring that infiltrated the Ontario attorney-general's ministry, the Ontario Provincial Police and the R.C.M.P....the church has a new unit whose mandate is to bring "hostile philosophies or societies into a state of complete compliance with the goals of Scientology."

Jan 27, 1997

HIJACKING THE HOLOCAUST : Plastered over an entire page of the International Herald Tribune, the letter stated: "In the Germany of the 1930s...Jews were at first marginalized, then excluded from many activities, then vilified and ultimately subjected to unspeakable horrors...In the 1930s, it was the Jews. Today, it is the Scientologists."

Jan 22, 1997

Scientology Banned in Greece : In Greece, an Athens Administrative Court passed a judgment which affects Scientology materially. It states that the psycho-sect is to be banned. The judge stated that the financial machinations of the commercial sect were not compatible with the public welfare.

Dec 19, 1996

Group that once criticized Scientologists now owned by one  : At one time, the Cult Awareness Network took as many as 16,000 telephone calls a year in an effort to help anxious families worried about sons or daughters involved with unconventional religions.

Dec 01, 1996

Scientologist buys bankrupt cult-fighting organization : The Cult Awareness Network (CAN), forced into bankruptcy by a Bellevue resident's lawsuit, was sold last week to one of the organizations it fought -- the Church of Scientology.

Nov 06, 1996

23 Scientologists go on trial after suicide : Twenty-three members of the Church of Scientology are to go on trial in the French city of Lyon today in a case triggered by a follower's suicide. The 23 defendants are accused of crimes ranging from man-slaughter to embezzlement to fraud and complicity and, if convicted, could be sentenced to up to five years in prison and be fined as much as R4,5-million.

Germany's mental fight "Is the Church of Scientology planning world domination? In Germany, some think so and the state has mobilised to counter-attack. In an imposing modern building, stands the Church of Scientology's headquarters in Hamburg. The German authorities fear it represents a form of spiritual seduction which could undo a carefully nurtured democracy and bring back the mindless obedience of the Nazi Third Reich....the German federal labour minister, Norbert Blum, has publicly accused Scientology of using religion as a cover for what he calls "criminal money laundering"....Michael Ziegler, from the Munich office of the Bavarian Interior Ministry insists "if an organisation has the aim of undermining the state and to rule the world then the state can't stand aside.".... After seven years inside the organisation Norbert Potthoff, the best known of many German defectors from Scientology, rebelled against its strategy for a so-called "Clear Germany", which he describes as a plan to take political power by infiltrating the top layer of society. "Scientology is like Nazi Germany," he claims."

Oct 17, 1996

The following is the text of the ad placed by the Scientologists in The New York Times  : To prevent a repetition of the persecution of religious minorities in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, the country's postwar Constitution guarantees the right to religious freedom and practice. However, to circumvent the Constitution and justify their attempts to deprive members of the Church of Scientology of their civil rights, German officials have bluntly asserted that Scientology is not a religion.

Sep 06, 1996

Behind an Internet Message Service's Close : Pressure from the Church of Scientology International was at least partly responsible for the recent shutdown of a well-known Internet messaging service based in Helsinki, according to the Finnish operator of the service.

July 17, 1996

Judge rules Time can't be sued for calling Scientology cult of greed : A federal judge has thrown out the remaining part of a 415 million lawsuit brought by the Church of Scientology against Time Warner Inc. The suit charged that Time magazine maliciously libeled the church in a 1991 article that called it a cult of greed.

June 29, 1996

The Earthling : Is EarthLink and the Church of Scientology affiliated?

Nov 28, 1995

Ruling on Net Posting Of Copyrighted Work : San Jose federal judge has ruled that Netcom On-Line Communications cannot be held directly responsible when a subscriber uses it to illegally distribute copyrighted material. The 32-page ruling came as Whyte denied a request by the Church of Scientology that would have required Netcom to block the posting of the church's most sacred scriptures.

Sep 13, 1995

CNN U.S. News News Briefs 9 : Church of Scientology loses fight against former member, Larry Wollersheim.

June 14, 1995

Soldier stole to pay loans linked to Scientologists : A Corporal in the Army Pay Corps with an exemplary record stole £15,000 to pay off loans he had been persuaded to take out by the Church of Scientology, a court martial in Plymouth was told yesterday.

March 23, 1995

Scientology Training : Allstate Corp. acknowledged that it hired a consultant who taught ``unacceptable'' Church of Scientology management principles to the insurance company's agents and supervisors between 1988 and 1992. The company denied allegations some workers were hounded, intimidated and wrongfully fired as a result of the training program.

March 15, 1995

Cult's hopes of improving its image takes a knock : Mr Justice Latey decided a custody dispute between a father who was a committed Scientologist and a mother who had left the cult by removing two children from the father and giving them to the mother.

March 6, 1995

TECHNOLOGY: UNMASKED ON THE NET : The Finnish police, who were acting on a complaint from the Church of Scientology in Los Angeles, served a search-and-seize warrant on Helsingius, demanding that he turn over the real name of one of his users.

Jan 16, 1995

FLAMEWAR : Someone or something has been busy lately on alt.religion.scientology, the Usenet newsgroup that carries the escalating flamewar on the Internet between the Church of Scientology and its critics.

Dec 02, 1994

Jackson and wife 'face split' over where to live : Lisa Marie, who introduced Michael Jackson into the Church of Scientology, is believed to want to stay in California, where her mother lives, while Jackson wants to move to New York.

Sep 18, 1994

The Giant Scientology Octopus : Federal Labor Minister Norbert Bluem (CDU) urged a "substantially rigorous, faster opposition" to the "Scientology" sect, which is active in Germany. He regards the sect as a "criminal money-laundering organization which is intent on expanding its delusional ideology worldwide under the pretext of religion and will stop at nothing."

Tom's Scientology Secrets Exposed! : "(Tom Cruise) is alleged to have turned a blind eye to the use of slave labour to build him a gym, an apartment and other gifts from the Scientologists...Tom even agreed to put into writing his innermost sexual feelings, and made one confession that would stun his millions of fans, leaving himself open to blackmail...Andre Tabayoyon says he also witnessed a number of Scientologists go crazy and commit suicide following exposure to the cult's controversial brainwashing techniques..."

MANAGING MINDS : Dennis Erlich...I was the guy who brainwashed the brainwashers...The nursery was filthy, the kids were sick, there were outbreaks of lice and scabies...little white worms started crawling out of her anus...Within the organization, staff are very vicious to each other. They scream at each other, and there's lots of duress on staff...These people intend to take over the world.

The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power : (Noah Lottick) had jumped from a 10th-floor window of the Milford Plaza Hotel and bounced off the hood of a stretch limousine. When the police arrived, his fingers were still clutching $171 in cash, virtually the only money he hadn't turned over to the Church of Scientology..."I now believe it's a school for psychopaths." Their so-called therapies are manipulations. They take the best and the brightest people and destroy them."...In various cases judges have labeled the church "schizophrenic and paranoid" and "corrupt, sinister and dangerous."

The Scientology Story : Eleven of its top leaders -- including Hubbard's wife -- were jailed for burglarizing the U.S. Justice Department and other federal agencies in the 1970s. Some former members have filed lawsuits accusing the church of intimidating its critics, breaking up families and using high-pressure sales techniques to separate large sums of money from its followers. In 1986, Scientology paid an estimated $5 million to settle more than 20 of the suits, without admitting wrongdoing. In exchange, the plaintiffs agreed never again to criticize Scientology or Hubbard and to have their lawsuits forever sealed from public view. Through all this, the church has persevered, dismissing its critics in government, psychiatry and the media as "criminals" and "anti-religion" demagogues who have conspired to persecute Scientology. "The world is ours," Hubbard once told his adherents. "Own it."

Dec 02, 1984

Scientology investigates the public : The strategy of using informants, which is widely used in the USA, has only come to light in Germany for the first time now, since the uncovering of Scientology detective Wunderer. Wunderer was assigned to track down dirt on people, just as Hubbard dictated.

Scientology religion claim sham, says judge : (Australia) The Scientology organisation's claims to be a religion were a sham, a Supreme Court judge said yesterday. Some of its services were grotesque, a mockery of religion, he said. Mr Justice Crockett described some of the organisation's activities, including "christening" services, as a "grotesque parody of Christianity". Some of its practices and professed beliefs were "no more than a mockery of religion", and the fact that some gullible people accepted it as a genuine religion did not make it so, he said.

Scientology; Anatomy of a Frightening Cult : Says Assistant U.S. Attorney Raymond Banoun..." The Scientology officials hid behind claims of religious liberty while inflicting injuries upon every element of society."...As defectors have attested, subjects become hysterical and psychotic in their auditing. Then they are locked in isolation. Not surprisingly, suicides occur.

Ministers to urge ban on Scientology : (Australia) Minister for Health, Mr. MacKinnon... "I am convinced that Scientology is a menace, particularly with regard to mental health...I believe a nationwide ban would be more desirable than action by individual States."

Report calls for ban on scientology : (Australia)...tabled in the Victorian Legislative Assembly yesterday. The 202-page report is one of the most damning documents ever to come before the House. It condemns Scientology in these words: "Scientology is evil, its techniques evil, its practice is a serious threat to the community mentally, morally and socially, and its adherents sadly deluded and often mentally ill." The report says that the founder of scientology, Lafayette Ronald Hubbard, is a fraud and scientology is a fraud..."Adherence to scientology is sustained by a mixture of mental conditioning and fear."... "The mental conditioning is effected by hypnotic techniques and procedures which have a brainwashing effect."... "Scientology robs people of their initiative, their sense of responsibility, their critical faculties and sometimes their reason. It induces them mentally to debase and enslave themselves."

Jan 09, 1952

German magazine examines Dianetics : The birth of Dianetics, the "modern science of mental health" has been extolled by its founder as a "milestone for humankind which is comparable to the discovery of fire."

Dianetics: Science or Hoax? : "Hubbard, you may gather...has discovered the key to success and demonstrated once again that Barnum underestimated the sucker birth rate." '...Dr. Will Menninger, past president of the American Psychiatric Association...goes even farther in indicting dianetics: "It can potentially do a great deal of harm. It is obvious that the mathematician-writer has oversimplified the human personality, both as to its structure and function. He has made inordinate and very exaggerated claims in his results.' 'Dr. Frederick J. Hacker, a Los Angeles psychiatrist, adds: "If it were not for sympathy for mental suffering of disturbed people, the so-called science of dianetics could be dismissed for what it is ... a clever scheme to dip into the pockets of the gullible with impunity. The dianetic auditor is but another name for the witch doctor exploiting a real need with phony methods."'