From Baba_ROM_DOS@hotmail.com Mon Nov 23 04:10:38 1998
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

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?