From Baba_ROM_DOS@hotmail.com Mon Nov 23 04:10:38 1998
A suppressive person from Lyon just gave me last week's edition of
Lyon Capitale, the principal weekly newspaper of France's
second largest city. The headline on the top of page one reads
"Deux Lyonnais menaces par la Scientologie:
la secte multiplie les attaques contre ses detracteurs"
Which translates as
"Two Lyonnais Threatened by Scientology:
the cult steps up attacks against its critics"
and there are 2 1/2 pages on the "Church". There's a news story,
an interview with author Paul Aries, and some side-bars. It's a lot
to translate, so I'm just going to post the main article here. It
is bound to warm the hearts of suppressive people everywhere.
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A Dangerous Cult
[ After having waged a massive PR campaign during the trial
in Lyon of 23 of its members in 1996, the Church of Scientology is
vigorously attacking those who dare to criticise it. Apostles of
religious tolerance, this dangerous cult is hardly tolerant of those
who talk about it. They have threatened a Lyon web site. Now
they are taking on the work of professor Paul Aries]
SCIENTOLOGY: CULT OF INTOLERANCE
by Frederic Crouzet [translated by BRD]
It was two years ago. While 23 of its members were before the
criminal courts of Lyon, one for involuntary homicide, the others
for fraud and abuse of trust, the Church of Scientology was highly
visible in the streets of Lyon. Demonstrations, distribution of
leaflets, open houses and public ceremonies: the scientologists
cultivated the appearance of victims through a vast PR campaign.
Journalists were invited to the mission in the Place des Capucins
(Lyon, 1st arrondissement) to meet the senior representatives of the
organization, designated a dangerous cult by a 1995 parliamentary
report, who spoke then of a "heresy trial". The scientologists
convicted by the court saw their sentences reduced on appeal.
While recalling that there had been fraud, the appeals court allowed
the Church of Scientology to take advantage of being a "religion",
thus giving the cult a new opportunity to improve its public image.
[THREATS OF LAWSUITS]
Today, the church founded in 1954 by the American science
fiction author Ron Hubbard has, it seems, closed its doors again.
Sealed off from the world ["Hermetique"], the organization is
showing itself to be more allergic than ever to criticism. When
we asked for premission to talke a few photos at the church in
Lyon, we were dryly told: "No. I mean no. Don't insist." with
no further explanation. Currently under fire in the media, now
that several elements of a case against the cult have disappeared
from a court in Paris, "la Sciento" has pulled into its shell. And
gone onto the offensive. Lyon professor Paul Aries, a specialist
on cult issues, knows something about it. His latest work,
"Scientology: laboratory of the future", published by Golias,
wasn't yet on sale when he received a letter from Scientology
reminding him that that the texts of the founding guru were
protected by copyright, before threatening him with forgery.
But Christian Terras, founder of the revue "Golias", replied
to the scienos ["aux sciento"] that he would anyway publish
the book. It's a done deal since last week. Apostles of religious
tolerance in its own publications, the cult has a hard time
tolerating criticism, and puts its lawyers on the heels of of
anyone who dares reveal its secrets.
Secrets. Therein lies ongoing business of this multinational
which since 1954 "sells well-being" worldwide to some 8 million
adherents, raking in huge amounts of money (the cult owes
42 million francs to the French tax authorities). Scientology
promises to liberate "the mentally enslaved" by purifying their
bodies and minds, eliminating bad Thetans, at the end of a
long series of initiations that is supposed to lead to a complete
mastery over one's own life. Each session of "auditing" must
be paid for, and the process can take years. The bill can be
as high as 500,000F.
[WHEN XENU RAN THE INTERGALACTIC FEDERATION]
Testamony of former members and texts attibuted to Ron Hubbard,
collected by Paul Aries, lay out some of these famous secrets.
That which is used to attain the high level of OT 3 is worth a look.
Summary: 75 million years ago, a certain Xenu headed the
intergallactic federation of 76 planets. To combat overpopulation,
13 trillion ["milliers de milliards"] Thetans are supposed to have
been sent to earth. Xenu had them frozen and transported in
rocket planes, then thrown in volcanoes and blown up with
H-bombs. The Thetans were then captured with an electric
net, reprogrammed, and then grouped into clusters. One of
these thretans is in charge and needs to get rid of the others.
Ron Hubbard askes OT 3 candidates to do the same today,
to free their minds from bad Thetans in order to have a better
mastery of their lives. Knowledge of these secrets without
correct initiation would be dangerous for scientologists.
"These are fantasies, nonsense, fabrications", replies OT 8
Daniele Founord, responsible for Scientology PR in France.
Ron Hubbard did write that story, but there is a good chance
that the official version would have been heavily reworked,
because Scientology regularly purges its own scriptures.
They can thus brandish accusations of forgery, since they
no longer recognize their former scripture.
That threat is hanging over the book of Paul Aries as it is
over web sites hostile to the cult. Roger Gonnet, the 58 year
old former head of Scientology in Lyon, has received several
letters from lawyers who demanded that he withdraw certain
pages from his highly critical site, called "Le secticide", in
the name of copyright law (see sidebar).
But cyber-scientologists are in no danger of coming across
his web site. The Church, which encourages its members to
have a personal page on the web, gives them a construction
kit to install on their computer. But this kit contains a filter,
which prevents the believer from reading any page mentioning
the word "Xenu", for example. While denouncing "busybodies
making their political careers off of us" and the thought police,
the Church of Scientology controls the thoughts of its members.
Despite the attempts to censor his web site, Roger Gonnet
is also putting out a book revealing the secrets of the cult.
To avoid trouble in advance of publication, he does not yet
wish to give the name of the publisher.
[PHYSICAL ATTACKS]
This is because all those who have investigated Scientology
have had their share of troubles. Police, academics, and the
investitgating magistrate responsible for the inquiry into the
suicide of a member in Lyon have all be subject to multiple
intimidations. Journalistic inquiries such as Serge Flaubert's
"A Cult at the Heart of the Republic" or Richard Behar's
article in Time magazine were the targets of lawsuits. Two
publishers refused Paul Aries' manuscript out of fear of long
and costly legal proceedings. The threats are sometimes
physical. Since he started researching cults, Aies has been
attacked several times, resulting in a dislocated shoulder.
A meeting with senior police officials was cancelled anonymously.
His mail has been stolen. He has had to move house several
times. "I can't accuse anyone in particular", he says, "I am
filing charges agains a John Doe".
"These are not our methods", retorts Danielle Gounord,
"How would that have served our interests? Those who have
caused M. Aries problems seem to be well organized. It is
exclusively a police matter. We're fed up with being saddled
with this sort of thing. We too will file charges against this
John Doe to find out who is responsible."
The lawyers for the highly litigious Scientology are thus at
little risk of being unemployed! Well-versed in self-defense,
the cult counter-attacks as well, using the weapons of its critics.
In the coming days, Scientology will be publishing, in 14
languages, a book called "Theology and Practice of a
Contemporary Religion". But when will we get a film
about the return of Xenu?
Return to The Skeptic Tank's main Index page.
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: EXCELLENT Article in French Regional Newspaper
From: Baba_ROM_DOS@hotmail.com (Baba ROM DOS)
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 12:10:38 GMT
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