Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 3, 2003, Page 59
that linking to material that infringed a copyright was actionable. (Jan Libbenga, The
Register, UK, Internet, 9/6/03)
Former Member’s Suit Settled
Former member Mary Johnson has settled her suit for damages against Scientology,
ending a Dublin, Ireland, trial in which she characterized the organization as a ―cult.‖ It is
unclear why Scientology, ―probably the most litigious ‗religious philosophy‘ in the world‖
[according to this account] decided to settle (on terms the litigants agreed not to disclose).
Johnson, who says Scientology techniques ―are extremely coercive, manipulative, and
dangerous, and bind people,‖ graduated from Trinity College Dublin after majoring in
languages, played squash for the province of Leinster, and ran a sporting goods store in
Dublin. When she was 29, a friend suggested that she try Scientology ―auditing‖
[counseling], and she did, although she says she was not particularly ―angst‖ ridden at the
time.
In these intense sessions with trained Scientologists, Johnson examined repetitively her
past traumas, including deaths in her family, and two abortions which she was forced to
reveal in the trial. She says the Scientologists eventually knew more about her personal life
than anyone else. After she sued, anonymous letters circulated demeaning her character
and asserting the Catholic Church had excommunicated her. A man called her shop asking
questions about her, and another photographed her in a pub.
Auditing, Johnson says, ―created in me a feeling of euphoria, so it became like an escape
mechanism after a hard day.‖ She became so deeply involved that she signed up with
Scientology for ―a billion years‖ [sic], became alienated from friends and family —
―suppressive‖ persons to be avoided if they disapproved of her new associations — and
eventually lost her critical faculties. Only the continued persistence of her sister, which led
to an ―epiphany,‖ freed Johnson from her pathological attachment to Scientology.
In the midst of the trial, Johnson was diagnosed with breast cancer, but went forward
nonetheless, despite the ravages of chemotherapy, to achieve a settlement that seems to
her to justify the effort. (Maeve Sheehan, Sunday Times, Irish Edition, Internet, 7/27/03
and News Review 5, 7/28/03)
Transcendental Meditation
Sponsor Withdraws Support of TM-based Course
International accounting firm KPMG has withdrawn financial support for Transcendental
Meditation’s CIDA course in Johannesburg, South Africa, after some students, refusing to
attend compulsory morning TM classes, said the requirement violated their freedom of
religion. One student said they were told not to return the following year because they
refused to sign a form agreeing to accept TM teaching. CIDA has since made the TM
element voluntary, but KPMG has not renewed its support.
The CIDA course, widely supported by the business community, provides disadvantaged
individuals with the opportunity to earn business degrees and aims to promote the
development of black accounting professionals. Both KPMG and the students who have left
in protest believe that the course is otherwise worthwhile. (Financial Mail, Internet,
8/29/03)
Tvind
Clothing Sales Putting Africans Out of Business
Sales in Africa of donated used clothing collected in the industrialized countries by the
Tvind organization are driving textile companies in Malawi, Mozambique, and Kenya out of
that linking to material that infringed a copyright was actionable. (Jan Libbenga, The
Register, UK, Internet, 9/6/03)
Former Member’s Suit Settled
Former member Mary Johnson has settled her suit for damages against Scientology,
ending a Dublin, Ireland, trial in which she characterized the organization as a ―cult.‖ It is
unclear why Scientology, ―probably the most litigious ‗religious philosophy‘ in the world‖
[according to this account] decided to settle (on terms the litigants agreed not to disclose).
Johnson, who says Scientology techniques ―are extremely coercive, manipulative, and
dangerous, and bind people,‖ graduated from Trinity College Dublin after majoring in
languages, played squash for the province of Leinster, and ran a sporting goods store in
Dublin. When she was 29, a friend suggested that she try Scientology ―auditing‖
[counseling], and she did, although she says she was not particularly ―angst‖ ridden at the
time.
In these intense sessions with trained Scientologists, Johnson examined repetitively her
past traumas, including deaths in her family, and two abortions which she was forced to
reveal in the trial. She says the Scientologists eventually knew more about her personal life
than anyone else. After she sued, anonymous letters circulated demeaning her character
and asserting the Catholic Church had excommunicated her. A man called her shop asking
questions about her, and another photographed her in a pub.
Auditing, Johnson says, ―created in me a feeling of euphoria, so it became like an escape
mechanism after a hard day.‖ She became so deeply involved that she signed up with
Scientology for ―a billion years‖ [sic], became alienated from friends and family —
―suppressive‖ persons to be avoided if they disapproved of her new associations — and
eventually lost her critical faculties. Only the continued persistence of her sister, which led
to an ―epiphany,‖ freed Johnson from her pathological attachment to Scientology.
In the midst of the trial, Johnson was diagnosed with breast cancer, but went forward
nonetheless, despite the ravages of chemotherapy, to achieve a settlement that seems to
her to justify the effort. (Maeve Sheehan, Sunday Times, Irish Edition, Internet, 7/27/03
and News Review 5, 7/28/03)
Transcendental Meditation
Sponsor Withdraws Support of TM-based Course
International accounting firm KPMG has withdrawn financial support for Transcendental
Meditation’s CIDA course in Johannesburg, South Africa, after some students, refusing to
attend compulsory morning TM classes, said the requirement violated their freedom of
religion. One student said they were told not to return the following year because they
refused to sign a form agreeing to accept TM teaching. CIDA has since made the TM
element voluntary, but KPMG has not renewed its support.
The CIDA course, widely supported by the business community, provides disadvantaged
individuals with the opportunity to earn business degrees and aims to promote the
development of black accounting professionals. Both KPMG and the students who have left
in protest believe that the course is otherwise worthwhile. (Financial Mail, Internet,
8/29/03)
Tvind
Clothing Sales Putting Africans Out of Business
Sales in Africa of donated used clothing collected in the industrialized countries by the
Tvind organization are driving textile companies in Malawi, Mozambique, and Kenya out of
