International Newspaper Articles

Church of Scientology fined by Danish court for defamation - "A Danish court fined the Church of Scientology on Friday for publishing defamatory remarks about an east German filmmaker and a Danish journalist ...Anette Refstrup, the Danish editor-in-chief of the church's magazine Frihed, or Freedom, was fined 10,000 kroner (US$1,370) and the church was ordered by the Copenhagen City Court to pay court fees of 130,000 kroner (US$17,800)...The article was published after the Church of Scientology tried to stop Pedersen from making a television show critical of the church, which is not recognized as a religious organization in Denmark"

French court fines Scientology on privacy abuse - "The court fined the Church 8,000 euros ($7,300) for keeping the details of former members on its databases, and using the information to harass them with advertising....French legislators passed a law last year making it an offence to abuse a vulnerable person through ''the exertion of heavy or repeated pressure or techniques'' liable to alter his or her judgment."

Scientology cult pays $8,674,643 to ex-member - "In the first landmark Wollersheim decision, Scientology’s counseling practices were found to be dangerous in the first jury decision of the LA Superior Court. These dangerous counseling practices were also found to be the cause of Lawrence Wollersheim being driven to the brink of insanity."

Vanilla Sky - "...the overtones of protean self-absorption and therapeutic self-help here have a distinctly Scientological aftertaste. And the implanted/constructed memories smack of what Scientology calls "engrams," detailed mental image recordings that the "preclear" mind forever plays back and disastrously re-enacts. Which, in turn, has caused people to murmur that the movie itself might constitute some kind of recruitment tract for Scientology"

Scientology ordained minister REED SLATKIN pleads guilty to $593 million fraud - "Reed Slatkin, a key early investor in Internet service provider EarthLink... was charged with orchestrating a massive Ponzi scheme in which he solicited more than $593 million from some 800 investors--including members of the Church of Scientology, where he is a minister...Slatkin was charged with five counts of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud, six counts of money laundering and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice during an investigation being conducted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission...he provided victims with false account statements that showed the fabricated returns."

Scientologists gag Google - Web search outfit Google has caved in to demands from the 'Church' of Scientology demanding that it delete URLs from its database directing Web surfers to certain pages maintained by Xenu.net, a well-known CoS critic. In this case the dreaded Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) has provided the pretext for censorship.

France puts Scientology sect on trial - "Prosecutors will charge the Church's inner temple, the Spiritual Association of the Church of Scientology in the Paris region, and its president, Marc Walter, with abuse of civil liberties, misleading publicity and attempted fraud..."It's a hugely important case, the first time the Church has been accused as a legal entity in its own right," said Olivier Morice, a lawyer for the National Union for the Defence of Families and Individuals, which is demanding that the organisation be outlawed..."That is a clear-cut case of breach of civil liberties and data protection legislation," a spokesman at the public prosecutor's office said yesterday. "The judge also argues that the organisation was set up specifically to commit these offences."...Unlike the US, France refuses to recognise Scientology as a religion, arguing that it is a purely commercial operation out to make as much money as it can at the expense of often vulnerable victims."

Scientology reaches out to troubled with ad campaign - "For Americans troubled by economic uncertainty, fear and grief, 1,100 Church of Scientology billboards going up in major U.S. cities claim to have an answer.....Mental health leaders say the campaign looks like a recruitment technique that could mislead emotionally vulnerable people. "We are concerned Scientology may be playing on people's vulnerability to increase their membership," said Cynthia Folcarelli... they're not qualified to provide those services." ...The Church of Scientology is opposed to psychiatry and psychology."

Jews and Scientologists - Not the same tax treatment -"If the IRS does in fact give preferential treatment to members of "..."Scientology" -- "allowing them a special right to claim deductions that are contrary to law and rightly disallowed to everybody else -- then the proper course of action is a lawsuit to put a stop to that policy ---Judge Reinhart - United States 9th Circuit court of Appeals"

Oct 01, 2001

Elfman Gives Back to Scientology - "While other stars are busy giving away millions to the different Sept. 11 funds, "Dharma & Greg" star Jenna Elfman is giving back to the Church of Scientology. The actress has announced plans to open the Church of Scientology Mission of San Francisco SoMa."

Oct 01, 2001

Supreme Court declines to review libel case from Church of Scientology - Ten years after Time magazine ran an award-winning article portraying the Church of Scientology as a greedy cult, the Supreme Court refused Monday to consider reinstating the church's libel case. The May 1991 article entitled, "Scientology: The Cult of Greed," said Scientology is "really a ruthless global scam."

Sympathy For The Devil - 'The Church of Scientology considers erstwhile loyalist Tory Bezazian "worse than the devil,"...Today, more than a year after her very public defection -- the first in memory to occur on the Internet -- Bezazian is still adapting to her transformation. She has quickly become a highly visible foe of the church she served for three decades.'

The Church of England has attacked the Church of Scientology over adverts claiming that it has "salvaged" 250,000 lives from drugs. The C of E told the Advertising Standards Authority the claim is "unsubstantiated".

Scientologists accused of misrepresenting selves during crisis - 'The National Mental Health Association accused the Church of Scientology of attempting to recruit members under the guise of providing mental health counseling after last week's terrorist attacks..."It's clear they aren't trying to help people with mental health but to get them to join their cult"'

Spain seeks dissolution of Scientology sect - "Spanish prosecutors called yesterday for the dissolution of the Church of Scientology and heavy prison sentences for 13 followers of the movement on trial on charges ranging from illegal detention to tax fraud."

'Mental health' hotline a blind lead - "Television viewers who turned to Fox News on Friday for coverage of the terrorist attack also saw a message scrolling across the bottom of their screens -- National Mental Health Assistance: 800-FOR-TRUTH. Unknown to the cable news channel, the phone number connects to a Church of Scientology center in Los Angeles, where Scientologists were manning the phones."

Investment counselor's legal troubles pose PR problem for Scientology : "Slatkin has been a big donor to the church and so are a lot of the people who invested with him,'' said Arnaldo Lerma, a former Scientologist and longtime critic ...If investigators can show the church somehow reaped rewards, Scientology might have to give some of that money back."

Scientology in sermon title raises eyebrows : 'Rev. Raymond Guterman said the sermon title stems from his belief that Jesus Christ is the foundation of the church. Therefore, if Scientology does not recognize Jesus Christ as the savior and follow his teachings, "in my opinion, it's not a church."...Such a public affront to Scientology from another church is virtually unheard of in Clearwater, where Scientology maintains its worldwide spiritual headquarters.'

TV's Dharma Hiring Scientology Pals : "Last spring, avowed and outspoken cult member Kirstie Alley appeared in Dharma and Greg's season cliffhanger...Now the show, has announced a full-time cast addition: Juliette Lewis,...Lewis is one of Scientology's foremost celebrities...Will Dharma and Greg simply become a repository for more Scientologists with dead careers? (Since the cancellation of her dreadful Veronica's Closet series, Alley has been relegated to Pier 1 Imports commercials. Lewis has been unemployable for years.)"

Aug 31, 2001

London Mayor Bans Scientologists From Trafalgar Square : ``Nothing about the activities of this group leads me to believe that this is anything other than a cynical method of promoting the Scientology creed. I would urge Londoners not to be duped by their expensive campaigning,'' Livingstone added.

Aug 28, 2001

Scientology Inc. - Long Article about e.Republic: "They pressure every employee to take Hubbard-based training."...David Feickert: "who was allegedly scammed out of $170,000"...Operation Freakout on author Paulette Cooper and lots more.

Fugitive Scientology critic seeks political asylum in Canada : "The Church of Scientology has been very successful using the law to squelch criticism on the Internet, and he is a victim of that."..."What kind of Alice-in-Wonderland Court is it that allows organized criminals to sit in the prosecutor's chair bringing charges against the honest citizens, in which a heavily-armed cult has Mafia lawyers direct the activities of the District Attorney?" an entry at freehenson.tripod.com reads.

Doctor in Lisa McPherson case suspended : Florida's Board of Medicine has sternly sanctioned Clearwater physician David I. Minkoff (a Scientologist), finding he improperly prescribed medicine for a patient he had never seen - Lisa McPherson . Minkoff prescribed Valium and the muscle relaxant chloral hydrate at the behest of unlicensed Church of Scientology staffers who were trying to nurse McPherson. "This is a healthy, 36-year-old female who died for no reason I can tell," said Rafael Miguel, one of two board members who wanted to revoke Minkoff's license. The doctor will lose his medical license for one year and then be made to practice under probation for two more years -- unless he appeals and wins a reversal. He also was fined $10,000. The board's action Friday is the first official consequence for anyone connected with McPherson's death.

Man's film a veiled look at Scientology : The full-length feature film was written and directed by Peter Alexander, a 20-year Scientologist who broke from the church in 1997 and now calls it an elaborate fraud. It was funded in part by Bob Minton, the Church of Scientology's most vocal critic. And in three weeks, it will be shown to the public for the first time at an independent theater in none other than Clearwater, the mecca for Scientologists who come there from around the world for church counseling.

Rector files suit against Orthodox Newspaper : The Episcopal youth newspaper, "Pokrov", accused the rector of Ural State University, Vladimir Tretyakov, of "providing assistance to satanic and sectarian organizations," and has labeled the university a "nursery of sectarianism." The newspaper's criticism is due to Tretyakov's decision to allow the Scientology Church to give lectures on university premises.

Judge sentences Keith Henson to 1 year : Keith Henson, who has been in Canada since May, was convicted of interfering with religion for protesting at the Church of Scientology's Golden Era Productions in Gilman Hot Springs. Riverside County Superior Court Judge Robert Wallerstein gave Henson, a 59-year-old Palo Alto resident, the option of serving 180 days in jail and three years of probation instead of the one-year sentence.

Court refuses application to stop action for damages : The High Court has refused an application by the Church of Scientology (COS) to strike out an action for damages taken against it by a Dublin woman who claims she suffered a distinct personality change after being subjected to mind control techniques by the church.

"On the Bridge to Freedom" by Net-Produktion, Denmark : A tv-documentary about children in Scientology. For a family that joins the elite-group of Scientology - The Sea Organisation - this results in children growing up almost like orphans. Go to the Website and view the documentary via Real Video (G2).

Police may be barred from Scientology work : The church pays city officers for off-duty security, which has led to questions about the department's impartiality. Police Chief Sid Klein and interim City Manager Bill Horne may stop allowing uniformed off-duty police officers to work as security guards for the Church of Scientology.

June 28, 2001

Scientologist convicted of fraud in Russia's far east : K H A B A R O V S K -- Olga Ukhova, director of the regional Dianetics scientology centre, has been sentenced to six years imprisonment conditionally for illegal entrepreneurship and money laundering in particularly large amounts. Ukhova professes to be a follower of Ron Hubbard, the founder of the teaching of dianetics and scientology. Criminal proceedings lasted more than one year. It has been proved by investigators and during court session hearings that the scientology centre did not limit itself to "enlightenment" but also impaired people morally, materially and physically. The Dianetics centre emerged in Khabarovsk when scientology had already been recognised as a disruptive sect movement in Germany, France, Sweden and other European countries. Ron Hubbard did not conceal that his ideas make it possible to turn people into slaves. In Moscow in 1998, the Ostankino court had recognised as illegal the entrepreneurial activities of Hubbard's followers and their centre in the capital of Russia had been wound up.

June 27, 2001

Nicole Kidman planning custody battle : The actress appears to have upped the stakes in the divorce case and is preparing to go to a court in her native Australia if the upcoming Los Angeles hearing does not grant her the rights she wants. Australian courts are well known for siding with the mother in custody cases and apparently they also frown on moving children from one home to another, especially if the other is not in Australia. Another point that can only help Kidman's case is that Scientology, Cruise's religion, is viewed with suspicion by hard-headed Aussies.

June 25, 2001

Tom lets kids visit Australia : Reports in LA this week suggested the Australian actor was prepared to up the ante in her battle for custody. But Cruise, 38, will not give in. He wants them raised in Los Angeles and under the guidance of his Church of Scientology colleagues.

June 25, 2001

Civil Liberties Group Defends Scientology Critic : Fearing that fugitive Scientology protester Keith Henson is being unjustly "slimed" by the Church of Scientology, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) on Friday publicly proclaimed its support for the convicted Internet critic, who has taken refuge in Canada from California authorities.

June 24, 2001

Travolta seeks recruits : John Travolta is out to win recruits to Scientology during his promotional tour of Australia.

Civil Liberties Group Defends Online Scientology Critic "Online civil liberties groups are concerned about what happened to Mr. Henson," EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn said today. "We felt the need to counter some of the sliming that is going on by Scientology."

June 22, 2001

Electronic Frontier Foundation Concerned US Court Violated Free Speech Rights : "We are deeply concerned that the decision violates Mr. Henson's free speech rights," said EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn. "Since he does not appear to have made any credible threat of physical attack as required for conviction under the U.S. Constitution, Mr. Henson has a legal right to express criticisms online without fearing a prison term."

June 20, 2001

Martin Short returns : In a future episode of "Primetime Glick", Martin Short tangles with Dennis Miller as they discuss Scientology. "I only made it 200 pages into 'Dianetics' and then my head exploded like I was in a David Cronenberg film," Miller says. "What do you make of it?" Glick, replies without hesitation. "I only know that you go into a desert somewhere and there's a ship there and you sign a huge check and if you don't, they kill you," Glick says.

June 12, 2001

Church, City may Trade Property : CLEARWATER -- The Church of Scientology and the city have forged a deal to swap land downtown so both organizations can consolidate blocks of property.

June 08, 2001

US Scientology critic free in Canada : Scientology critic Keith Henson has been released from a Canadian jail where he'd been detained since 28 May on suspicion that he gave incomplete information to Immigration when he entered the country.

June 03, 2001

Panda Software linked to Church of Scientology : Antivirus software firm Panda Software has been linked to the Church of Scientology. A French national newspaper has reported its founder has made donations to an organisation closely linked to the cult.

June 03, 2001

Meet the enforcer : Among the big publicity firms, PMK is notorious for shunning anyone who crosses the line. Ask Cruise or Travolta about Scientology or homosexuality, or Arnold Schwarzenegger about his father's reported Nazi past, Calista Flockhart about anorexia, or almost anyone about stalkers, and the shutters come down. 'You might get Nicole Kidman to say Scientology arranged their marriage but you will never get another client,' said Charles Fleming, journalism professor at the University of California. 'The power of these unified publicity companies is so intense that editors have largely given up the job of controlling Hollywood content. They don't even ask the questions. Celebrity profiles should now come with a disclaimer: "In agreeing to do this interview, we agreed not to discuss homosexuality, Scientology or whatever".'

OVER 5,000 DESPOTIC SECTS ACTIVE IN MOSCOW : More than 5,000 totalitarian cults are active in Moscow, warned a City Hall roundtable on destructive sectarian activities...The Witnesses of Jehova, Reverend Moon's Unity Church and the Church of Scientology are considered to present the greatest danger.

Jun 02, 2001

Earthlink Chief Signs Agreement (AP) : Slatkin invested money for more than 500 people, including fellow members of the Church of Scientology, Internet executives and Hollywood celebrities. Three investors sued him in April, alleging he had failed to return $34 million to them.

June 01, 2001

France arms itself with legal weapon to fight sects : France has become the first country in the world to introduce specific legislation aimed at controlling the activities of cults. The objective is to combat the 175-odd movements of a quasi-religious nature considered a danger to society.

May 30, 2001

Online Scientology critic jailed in Canada : Computer engineer Keith Henson has been arrested in Canada, where he had planned to file for status as a political refugee after being convicted by a California court of posting to Usenet rude things about the Church of Scientology...He was convicted of interfering with a religion.

May 30, 2001

France in controversial cult crackdown : Human rights groups are concerned about a new law in France restricting the activities of religious cults.

May 30, 2001

American Technologies Group Responds to Orchestrated Attack : American Technologies Group, Inc is seeking a U.S. Department of Justice investigation of the fraud, the attempts at theft, and any connection with the Church of Scientology which the Company has reason to believe is fully aware of these unlawful acts.

May 26, 2001

Group readies Scientology toehold in Battle Creek : In Battle Creek, Michigan, Scientology has purchased the 71-year-old Hart Hotel from a Grand Rapids bank for $235,000 to establish a new Church.

May 26, 2001

Scientology link to drug case keeps jurors from reaching verdict : The suspicion that Scientology framed prominent critic of the Church, Jesse Prince , in a drug bust leads to hung jury.

May 25, 2001

'Destroy him utterly' : "I had a 25-year history of being concerned with human-rights problems, like civil rights and Vietnam," said Henson. Trying to shut down the newsgroup "was the wake-up call for all of us. Most of the people now involved came in then. It was like they were a gang of thugs riding into town and burning down the newspaper. It got the attention of a lot of people."

May 11, 2001

Cisco exec backs Hubbardist courses : Cisco executive, Peg Maddocks, seems to enthusiastically back Hubbardist training methods.

March 11, 2000

MS helps you hack Scientology out of Win2k registry : The fact that the defrag program was written by Executive Software of California, whose CEO is a member of the Church of Scientology, became a major issue in Germany.

May 9, 2001

Scientologist-backed drug measure fizzles : A bill sponsored by state Rep. Larry Crow, R-Palm Harbor, at the behest of an anti-psychiatry group established by the Church of Scientology has once again fallen short of becoming law.

May 7, 2001

Beck's bandmates hit road after rocker gets religion : Two members of Beck's band have reportedly walked away from the group, complaining that the alternative singer's ties with Scientology are too much for them. The musicians said Beck was drawn to the controversial religion by his father, David Campbell, who has been a Scientologist for a decade, and the band's bass player, Justin Meldal-Johnson.

April 29, 2001

Falun Gong proclamation gets mayor in trouble with Chinese diplomats : In February, Bolingbrook Mayor, Roger Claar signed a proclamation declaring March 13 as L. Ron Hubbard Day.

April 27, 2001

Scientology Critic Convicted : Henson, a computer engineer who has been involved in prior legal skirmishes with Scientology, was found guilty on Thursday of interfering with Scientologists' civil rights and now faces a prison sentence of up to one year and a fine of up to $5,000.

April 26, 2001

Scientology critics to get bricks : Lisa McPherson will be memorialized in a downtown alley next door to a Church of Scientology building.

April 20, 2001

Leah Remini: Working hard as a queen among kings : Leah Remini is unapologetic about her brazen attitude toward life and her acting career. Remini says she finds solace in her steadfast practice of Scientology.

March 26, 2001

Raspberry awards for Travolta film : So stiff is the competition that they are probably the most difficult film awards to win. But the film Battlefield Earth which starred John Travolta has managed almost a clean sweep of Golden Raspberries in recognition of its profound awfulness.

March 05, 2001

PEOPLE.com | THE PEOPLE PROFILES : Giovanni Ribisi co-starred with his fraternal twin sister Marissa in the independent film Some Girls.Is a member of the Church of Scientology

March 02, 2001

Ye of Little Faith? In God, Not the Government, They Trust : Bush's promise to make federal money available to all religious groups, including the Church of Scientology and the Hare Krishnas, concerns Pat Robertson. He referred on his show to the "brainwashing techniques," and "underhanded tactics" the groups have been accused of in the past.

The Great Chupacabra Conspiracy "Critics have filmed Scientologist strong-arm agents physically interfering with protesters and sticking gum on their camera lenses, but Clearwater police are singularly uninterested in the indisputable video evidence of these crimes...Scientology claims to be uncompromisingly anti-drugs, but apparently sees no problem in using drug dealers as their attack dogs...Many of the Clearwater police officers during their off-duty hours are paid $21 per hour by Scientology to serve as a private security force, and critics charge that this makes it impossible for the police to be fair and neutral in the ongoing battle of ideologies."

Feb 20, 2001

It's Still a Clintonian World (Washington Post PM Extra) : Mr. Bush has said he will make his focus: literacy, sexual abstinence and substance abuse. The Church of Scientology plans to seek support for its drug rehabilitation and literacy programs.

Nicole's Scientology nightmare - "They wire children up to lie detectors, interrogate them about their families. Is this what devoted mother Nicole Kidman so fears about Tom Cruise's obsession with Scientology?"

My Scientology nightmare - "Members dedicate their whole life - and the next billion years, because they believe in reincarnation - to Scientology. Their mission is to convert the world...Scientologists, the sisters say, denounce outside schools as places full of 'wogs' (their word for non-Scientologists)."

Feb 15, 2001

Beat It!: "Last week, Mayor Richard Riordan finally woke up and fired painfully ineffective Police Commission president Gerald Chaleff...Even creepier, in some ways, is the fact that Chaleff is still a top attorney for the manipulative Church of Scientology."

Feb 12, 2001

Scientology Founder's Family Life Far From What He Preached : When it came to marriage and family life, the late L. Ron Hubbard did not practice what he preached. According to his unofficial biographers, Hubbard, who lived from 1911 to 1986, had at least seven children by three different wives, including one bigamous marriage.

Feb 12, 2001

Leaving the Fold - Third-generation Scientologist grows disillusioned with faith : Astra Woodcraft, apostate and defector, is the latest enemy of the Church of Scientology. Woodcraft, 22, never really joined this controversial psycho-spiritual movement, at least not as a free-thinking adult. Astra was born into it.

Feb 10, 2001

Geoff Hurst launches Scientology E-meter : The 1966 World Cup winner Sir Geoff Hurst opened an exhibition in London yesterday to promote Scientology, despite having no connections with the controversial movement.

Feb 06, 2001

Hollywood surprised at Cruise break-up : Tanya Hart told LA television's Eye Witness News: "Tom is very much into Scientology. "She's been going to Scientology as well for a very long time - but I was told by some of my sources that she wasn't as happy with it as he was."

Jan 01, 2001

Scientologist Web site rips off urban75.com : According to urban75, the "thieving bastards at Narconon (drug abuse 'charity' owned by the Scientologists) have ripped off a previous version of urban75 in its entirety: the navigation, the graphics, the code, the style sheets, the layout - everything - changing just the text and photos." A Web page with comparisons can be found here.

Jan 10, 2001

Erika Christensen : She's starring in the box office hit Traffic as the junkie daughter of the White House drug czar (Michael Douglas). The Christensens, who live in L.A., are avid members of the Church of Scientology.

Dec 29, 2000

The 10 worst movies of 2000 (CNN) : Battlefield Earth is a hideous sci-fi adventure film based on a book by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, a controversial religious group favored by a number of Hollywood stars.

Brained : As part of a potentially explosive case wending its way toward trial in Los Angeles superior court -- in which L.A. Police Commission President Gerald Chaleff is among the battery of lawyers representing the church -- Raul Lopez's attorneys contend that the church and individuals associated with it swindled their brain-damaged client out of up to $1.3 million. "They picked him clean, and we have the documentation to prove it," Dan Leipold says...Dr. Leonard Diamond's report, a copy of which was obtained by New Times, concluded that the auditing Lopez received from the church provided "absolutely no benefit," adding, "In fact, the data strongly point to the fact that these experiences have served to create additional disturbance so that [Lopez] has reached a point at which he is barely functioning."..."They isolated him from his family and took control of every aspect of his life," says Leipold. "They squeezed him until there was nothing left."..

Nov 06, 2000

Scientologist-software man blasts Germany : A Scientologist chief executive, Craig Jensen, owner and CEO of California-based Executive Software International, has lambasted German authorities who demanded a portion of Microsoft Corp's Windows 2000 designed by his firm be removed because of his religion.

Religious and Secular Jews Band Together to Aid Workers Fighting Against Cult - "Scientology is a cult that ensnares unsuspecting people through a kind of mind control that has been called psychological terrorism. Although the cult promises that its adherents will vastly improve their ability to enjoy life, and improve their careers and personal relationships through better communication, the truth is that the person is brainwashed and loses the ability to think for himself...Some of the cult's victims, who found themselves unable to escape its greedy clutches, have ended their lives."

July 22, 2000

Scientology case: probe for missing documents : Justice Minister Elisabeth Guigou has said she believed fraud was involved in the dossiers' disappearance. (Which disappeared in 1998 from the French justice ministry, were part of a case opened in 1990 against 16 regional Scientology leaders for alleged fraud, illegal practice of medicine and premeditated violence.)

June 22, 2000

France moves to outlaw cults : The French National Assembly has passed a bill banning cults, despite opposition by religious minorities and civil rights groups

June 16, 2000

Human rights group in hands of a cult : France's leading anti-cult official on Thursday accused the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IMFHR) of having been infiltrated by the Church of Scientology

Robert Minton, Chairman of the Lisa McPherson Trust, Receives Alternative Charlemagne Award "The religious face of Scientology is, in reality, nothing more than an illusion masking its political agenda and ambitions," Minton said. "However, Scientology uses this religious face as a cover to protect it from scrutiny. To my knowledge, this is not the kind of political animal that any democratic society has ever had to deal with before. It has co-opted the U.S. State Department under the guise of religious freedom to condemn Germany and France for religious persecution against Scientology."

May 13, 2000

Travolta's critical battlefield : John Travolta's latest film Battlefield Earth sees him play an evil villain - but critics say it is propaganda for the controversial Church of Scientology.

May 01, 2000

Combatants in Cult War Attempt Reconciliation : Fighting in the cult wars may have reached a peak three years ago, when lawyers and other individuals linked to the Church of Scientology, one of the nation's most controversial and powerful new religious movements, sued the Cult Awareness Network into bankruptcy.

March 23, 2000

The gospel of the web : August 12 1995 was a Saturday much like any other in the urban sprawl of Arlington, Virginia. Except that an alert went out over email and on Usenet groups to say that 10 people - including two federal marshals, two computer technicians, one a former FBI agent, and several attorneys - were raiding the home of former Scientologist Arnaldo Lerma.

Feb 08, 2000

France urged to ban Scientology : A French committee recommends dissolving the Church of Scientology on the grounds that its activities threatens public order.

Scientologists admit to altering New Year photos "Church of Scientology altered photos of a millennium rally to make it appear that more followers were present .The controversial Church of Scientology has been accused of fraud after it was shown to have posted computer-manipulated images of its New Year celebrations to its Web site, according to reports."