40 ICSA TODAY
Mark Rathbun, a former senior executive and outspoken critic
of the Church since he quit in 2004, said he had just cleared
security at the airport when the three ambushed him. The
footage reportedly shows them yelling at Rathbun to “get a life,”
that his criticism of the church has had “no effect,” and “nobody
gives a f*** about you.”
Rathbun said a recent lawsuit by his wife against Miscavige
charging that she was harassed by the church for 4 years may
have been the trigger for the latest incident. He said this wasn’t
the first time he had experienced intimidation tactics by church
executives, who “…know how to discern our travel plans in
advance … we have been confronted by or … overtly tailed
… nearly every time we arrive in another city at the airport.”
(International Business Times, 10/21/14)
Documentary draws ire from the Church of Scientology
Alex Gibney’s new documentary about the Church of
Scientology and renegades who left it behind, Going Clear:
Scientology and the Prison of Belief, became available on HBO
on March 16. In describing the film to the International Business
Times, Mark “Marty” Rathbun, former senior executive of the
Church of Scientology who participated in the documentary,
said “that America’s most accomplished modern documentarian
has now weighed in raises the stakes against Scientology
continuing to carry on business as usual. We are hopeful … that
the light’s increasing intensity causes Scientology to cease their
domestic terrorism operations.”
The documentary is based on the 2013 book of the same
name written by Lawrence Wright, a producer of the film Going
Clear…, a movie built heavily around on-camera interviews
with Paul Haggis, Marty Rathbun, Michael Rinder, Jason Beghe
and other former adherents who have painted a picture of
declining membership and abusive practices within the church.
The film also describes the life of Scientology founder L. Ron
Hubbard, including a first-person account from his late second
wife Sara Northrup. It provides personal details about some
Church celebrity members, including Tom Cruise and John
Travolta. It also contains rare photographic and historical film
footage such as the Church’s Sea Organization aboard the
Flagship Apollo, the home of L. Ron Hubbard Miscavige in
his office with Rathbun and extended cuts from the Church’s
announcement that its “war” with the federal government was
over after it received tax-exempt status in 1993.
The Church of Scientology attacked the film before its premiere
in an ad campaign in The New York Times. And in a statement
released after the screening, the church reiterated its stance,
saying the accusations made in the film “are entirely false” and
“alleged without ever asking the Church.”
Mr. Wright engaged extensively with Scientology officials
while writing his book, partially in response to the
organization’s scathing 2011 How Laurence Wright Got it
So Wrong documentation of what it called “falsehoods”
(lawrencewrightgoingclear.com/) in his accounting. Like the
book, the documentary relies on interviews with Scientology
dropouts whose filmed accounts mostly track with Wright’s
earlier descriptions of claimed abuse, both physical and
emotional. (The New York Times, 1/15/15 International Business
Times, 1/26/15)
Feds fund Scientology-backed detox program for vets
A detoxification program in Annapolis, Maryland supported
by the Church of Scientology is treating veterans suffering
from chronic Gulf War-related conditions. Funding is by the
US Department of Defense through a $633,677 grant issued in
September 2010, according to Pentagon officials. The money
was awarded to researchers at the University of Albany in
New York state, with David O. Carpenter, the director of the
school’s Institute for Health and the Environment, as the chief
applicant and investigator. Carpenter described the program as
a “preliminary study” to find out whether a scientific basis exists
for the therapy L. Ron Hubbard developed for the Church’s
detoxification program. He said the study is the first of its
kind to be done by “independent people ...in a fashion that’s
rigorous and objective.”
The program gets additional help from the Heroes Health Fund
(a nonprofit organization chaired by actor and Scientologist
John Travolta), which has funded similar programs for public-
safety officials nationwide who responded to the 2001 World
Trade Center attacks. The Heroes Health Fund website gives
estimates of more than 1,000 men and women who became ill
during 9/11 rescue and recovery operations who have received
such services since 2002.
Veterans and public safety workers interviewed by The Capital
who completed the program said it did not encourage them
to take an interest in Scientology as a religion. Many said they
were unaware of the program’s origins when they learned the
treatment was available. Participants have said the connection
to Scientology did not deter them, even if that was not made
apparent at the start.
Carpenter said no one involved in conducting the study is a
Scientologist, and that the Annapolis program’s goal is simply
to find out whether it works. The grant will cover treatments for
30 Gulf War veterans with the chronic illness. Carpenter said, “If
there isn’t [scientific evidence of long-term benefits], then [the
program is] dead in the water.” (CapitalGazette.com, 12/14/14)
Scientology group offers antidrug programs at city schools
The Foundation for a Drug-Free World (FDFW), a group
backed by the Scientology church, has announced on its
Facebook page that it’s offering “free drug education events”
to elementary, middle-, and high-school students in all
five boroughs of New York’s city schools. Megan Fialkoff,
Spokesperson for the group, said they don’t push religion
on the kids. Individual schools can partner with outside
organizations as long as it does not violate any laws or
department regulations, a school official said. They’re in the
clear, as long as there’s no religious instruction. Sources said the
Scientologists likely were invited by the principals. But some
parents were still outraged.
Fialkoff, who says she is both Jewish and a Scientologist, said
they have nothing to hide and “any person can view or order
our full curriculum online. The program is sponsored by many
different organizations including the Church of Scientology,”
she said. “It’s a secular, nonprofit program. Anything that
anyone says about it is just someone trying to make this into
something that it’s not, and that’s just unfortunate.”
FDFW claims on its website that there’s an urgent need for its
services. “Young people today are exposed earlier than ever to
drugs,” the website reads. “You probably know someone who
has been affected by drugs, directly or indirectly.”
The foundation also boasted it has worked with NYPD youth
programs and has even trained school safety agents. But a high-
38
Mark Rathbun, a former senior executive and outspoken critic
of the Church since he quit in 2004, said he had just cleared
security at the airport when the three ambushed him. The
footage reportedly shows them yelling at Rathbun to “get a life,”
that his criticism of the church has had “no effect,” and “nobody
gives a f*** about you.”
Rathbun said a recent lawsuit by his wife against Miscavige
charging that she was harassed by the church for 4 years may
have been the trigger for the latest incident. He said this wasn’t
the first time he had experienced intimidation tactics by church
executives, who “…know how to discern our travel plans in
advance … we have been confronted by or … overtly tailed
… nearly every time we arrive in another city at the airport.”
(International Business Times, 10/21/14)
Documentary draws ire from the Church of Scientology
Alex Gibney’s new documentary about the Church of
Scientology and renegades who left it behind, Going Clear:
Scientology and the Prison of Belief, became available on HBO
on March 16. In describing the film to the International Business
Times, Mark “Marty” Rathbun, former senior executive of the
Church of Scientology who participated in the documentary,
said “that America’s most accomplished modern documentarian
has now weighed in raises the stakes against Scientology
continuing to carry on business as usual. We are hopeful … that
the light’s increasing intensity causes Scientology to cease their
domestic terrorism operations.”
The documentary is based on the 2013 book of the same
name written by Lawrence Wright, a producer of the film Going
Clear…, a movie built heavily around on-camera interviews
with Paul Haggis, Marty Rathbun, Michael Rinder, Jason Beghe
and other former adherents who have painted a picture of
declining membership and abusive practices within the church.
The film also describes the life of Scientology founder L. Ron
Hubbard, including a first-person account from his late second
wife Sara Northrup. It provides personal details about some
Church celebrity members, including Tom Cruise and John
Travolta. It also contains rare photographic and historical film
footage such as the Church’s Sea Organization aboard the
Flagship Apollo, the home of L. Ron Hubbard Miscavige in
his office with Rathbun and extended cuts from the Church’s
announcement that its “war” with the federal government was
over after it received tax-exempt status in 1993.
The Church of Scientology attacked the film before its premiere
in an ad campaign in The New York Times. And in a statement
released after the screening, the church reiterated its stance,
saying the accusations made in the film “are entirely false” and
“alleged without ever asking the Church.”
Mr. Wright engaged extensively with Scientology officials
while writing his book, partially in response to the
organization’s scathing 2011 How Laurence Wright Got it
So Wrong documentation of what it called “falsehoods”
(lawrencewrightgoingclear.com/) in his accounting. Like the
book, the documentary relies on interviews with Scientology
dropouts whose filmed accounts mostly track with Wright’s
earlier descriptions of claimed abuse, both physical and
emotional. (The New York Times, 1/15/15 International Business
Times, 1/26/15)
Feds fund Scientology-backed detox program for vets
A detoxification program in Annapolis, Maryland supported
by the Church of Scientology is treating veterans suffering
from chronic Gulf War-related conditions. Funding is by the
US Department of Defense through a $633,677 grant issued in
September 2010, according to Pentagon officials. The money
was awarded to researchers at the University of Albany in
New York state, with David O. Carpenter, the director of the
school’s Institute for Health and the Environment, as the chief
applicant and investigator. Carpenter described the program as
a “preliminary study” to find out whether a scientific basis exists
for the therapy L. Ron Hubbard developed for the Church’s
detoxification program. He said the study is the first of its
kind to be done by “independent people ...in a fashion that’s
rigorous and objective.”
The program gets additional help from the Heroes Health Fund
(a nonprofit organization chaired by actor and Scientologist
John Travolta), which has funded similar programs for public-
safety officials nationwide who responded to the 2001 World
Trade Center attacks. The Heroes Health Fund website gives
estimates of more than 1,000 men and women who became ill
during 9/11 rescue and recovery operations who have received
such services since 2002.
Veterans and public safety workers interviewed by The Capital
who completed the program said it did not encourage them
to take an interest in Scientology as a religion. Many said they
were unaware of the program’s origins when they learned the
treatment was available. Participants have said the connection
to Scientology did not deter them, even if that was not made
apparent at the start.
Carpenter said no one involved in conducting the study is a
Scientologist, and that the Annapolis program’s goal is simply
to find out whether it works. The grant will cover treatments for
30 Gulf War veterans with the chronic illness. Carpenter said, “If
there isn’t [scientific evidence of long-term benefits], then [the
program is] dead in the water.” (CapitalGazette.com, 12/14/14)
Scientology group offers antidrug programs at city schools
The Foundation for a Drug-Free World (FDFW), a group
backed by the Scientology church, has announced on its
Facebook page that it’s offering “free drug education events”
to elementary, middle-, and high-school students in all
five boroughs of New York’s city schools. Megan Fialkoff,
Spokesperson for the group, said they don’t push religion
on the kids. Individual schools can partner with outside
organizations as long as it does not violate any laws or
department regulations, a school official said. They’re in the
clear, as long as there’s no religious instruction. Sources said the
Scientologists likely were invited by the principals. But some
parents were still outraged.
Fialkoff, who says she is both Jewish and a Scientologist, said
they have nothing to hide and “any person can view or order
our full curriculum online. The program is sponsored by many
different organizations including the Church of Scientology,”
she said. “It’s a secular, nonprofit program. Anything that
anyone says about it is just someone trying to make this into
something that it’s not, and that’s just unfortunate.”
FDFW claims on its website that there’s an urgent need for its
services. “Young people today are exposed earlier than ever to
drugs,” the website reads. “You probably know someone who
has been affected by drugs, directly or indirectly.”
The foundation also boasted it has worked with NYPD youth
programs and has even trained school safety agents. But a high-
38
