Church Of Scientology

After decades of feuding, the Internal Revenue Service has granted the Church of Scientology and more than 150 of its corporate entities tax-exempt status, ruling that they are charitable, religious organizations entitled to be free from federal income taxes. Marty Rathbun, president of one of the Scientology organizations that received the tax exemptions, said the government sent 30 exemption letters to Scientology groups earlier this month.

Financially strapped KCET-TV is in talks to sell its landmark Sunset Boulevard studio to the Church of Scientology, according to people who know about the pending deal. The Los Angeles television station, which is struggling to rebuild viewership after its recent split from PBS, plans to move its operations to a smaller location, real estate brokers said. Station officials have been touring potential sites, brokers said. Terms of the potential deal were unavailable, but the 4.5-acre property at 4401 W. Sunset Blvd.

To his followers, L. Ron Hubbard was bigger than life. But it was an image largely of his own making. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge put it bluntly while presiding over a Church of Scientology lawsuit in 1984. Scientology's founder, he said, was "virtually a pathological liar" about his past. Hubbard was an intelligent and well-read man, with diverse interests, experience and expertise. But that apparently was not enough to satisfy him.

A French court on Tuesday convicted the Church of Scientology here of fraud, fining the branch $888,000 for swindling former members, but stopped short of shutting down the group. French Scientology leader Alain Rosenberg was also convicted of fraud and received a two-year suspended prison sentence and a fine of $44,000. With its judgment, the court warned, "Be careful . . . next time, justice won't let you go if you continue using the same methods," said Olivier Morice, a lawyer for civil parties in the case.

Germany has barred the makers of a movie about a plot to kill Adolf Hitler from filming at German military sites because its star, Tom Cruise, is a Scientologist, the Defense Ministry said on Monday. Cruise, also one of the film's producers, is a member of the Church of Scientology, which the German government does not recognize as a church. Berlin says it masquerades as a religion to make money, a charge Scientology leaders reject. The U.S. actor has been cast as Col.

The developer who bought up and then rebuilt much of Santa Ana's downtown is negotiating to sell one of his prized historic buildings to the Church of Scientology. Mike Harrah spent $11 million to restore the four-story building, which features three theaters with ornate moldings, painted ceilings and enormous candelabra.

The Supreme Court Monday gave attorneys for the Hare Krishnas and the Church of Scientology another chance--although a slim one--to persuade a California court that it should throw out multimillion-dollar verdicts won in lawsuits filed by former devotees. Two weeks ago, the high court said juries may impose huge punitive damage verdicts so long as a state judge makes sure that the damage awards are in line with the gravity of the offenses.

Los Angeles school officials are warning campuses not to use a drug prevention program linked to the Church of Scientology while California's schools chief has ordered an investigation to determine whether the anti-drug presentations are scientifically sound and free from the religion's influence. The target of the district and state actions is Narconon, a drug prevention and rehabilitation program that bases its ideas partly on the research and controversial teachings of Scientology founder L.

A French court on Tuesday convicted the Church of Scientology here of fraud, fining the branch $888,000 for swindling former members, but stopped short of shutting down the group. French Scientology leader Alain Rosenberg was also convicted of fraud and received a two-year suspended prison sentence and a fine of $44,000. With its judgment, the court warned, "Be careful . . . next time, justice won't let you go if you continue using the same methods," said Olivier Morice, a lawyer for civil parties in the case.

Sweden, one of only a few countries to recognize the Church of Scientology as a "religious community," has granted its ministers the right to perform marriages, the Los Angeles-based organization said Thursday. The Rev. Heber Jentzsch, president of the Church of Scientology International, welcomed Thursday's move by the Swedish National Judicial Board for Public Lands and Funds as a "milestone for the Church of Scientology in Europe and for religious freedom."

The Church of Scientology has had a bad couple of years, PR-wise. You could start the damage-control clock running in January 2008 with the release of the Scientology indoctrination video featuring Tom Cruise -- you know, black turtleneck, eyes spinning -- claiming that Scientologists are the only ones who could really help at an accident scene. This summer the church was tried for fraud in France.

The leader of the Church of Scientology struck subordinates numerous times and set an example for physical violence among the tightly controlled religion's management team, four former high-ranking executives told a newspaper for a story published Sunday. The executives, who have since left the organization, told the St. Petersburg Times that they witnessed David Miscavige, chairman of the board that oversees the church, hit staff members dozens of times. "It was random and whimsical.

The Internet encyclopedia Wikipedia has blocked all contributions from computers at the Church of Scientology's Los Angeles headquarters to stop users there from revising articles to reflect a pro-Scientology viewpoint. The site has also banned some critics of the controversial religion from editing Scientology articles to tamp down a long-standing battle between the two groups, a Wikipedia spokesman said.

Church of Scientology critics are accusing Riverside County of kowtowing to the religion and infringing on free speech by passing an ordinance that limits protest outside the church's sprawling complex near Hemet. For the last year, a handful of demonstrators who believe Scientology is an abusive cult have picketed Golden Era Productions, the church's main center for the production and dissemination of videos and tapes. The campus is home to 500 church employees.

In Los Angeles' rarefied world of private schools, where tuitions are high, academics are tough and educational philosophy is taken seriously, the newest member of the tribe is getting the kind of breathless attention reserved for a music or film star. That may be because the founders of New Village Academy are themselves such stars: Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.

Anonymous, the loosely bound group of Internet activists who have targeted the Church of Scientology in recent weeks, showed up Sunday morning to protest at the church's largest Los Angeles locations. The rallies were part of a global day of demonstrations against Scientology organized by the group, with picketers in New York, Toronto, Britain, Australia and other locations. The protests were peaceful, with music and chanting.

Nearly 30 years ago, the Church of Scientology bought a dilapidated and bankrupt resort here and turned the erstwhile haven for Hollywood moguls and starlets into a retreat for L. Ron Hubbard, the science fiction writer who founded the religion.

In Los Angeles' rarefied world of private schools, where tuitions are high, academics are tough and educational philosophy is taken seriously, the newest member of the tribe is getting the kind of breathless attention reserved for a music or film star. That may be because the founders of New Village Academy are themselves such stars: Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.

Mailings of a suspicious white powder to 10 Church of Scientology addresses prompted the evacuation of dozens of people and the closure of a major thoroughfare Wednesday as hazmat teams were called to examine the packages. The letters were sent via the Postal Service to Scientology properties in Hollywood, the San Fernando Valley, Santa Monica, Glendale and Tustin.

German federal and state interior ministers declared the Church of Scientology in conflict with the constitution, opening the way for a possible ban. Germany does not recognize Scientology as a religion and regards it as a cult masquerading as a church to make money. Scientologists reject this view and said in a statement that more than 50 court decisions in Germany had acknowledged the group as a religious community.