Anonymous protester in Guy Fawkes' mask demonstrating during January 2009 raid outside the Founding Church of Scientology in Washington, D.C. [Photo by Ben Schumin: Some rights reserved]
Monday, St. Pete documented the group's strenuous efforts to track down, spy on and bring back members who tried to leave, and the measures applied in some cases to those retrieved.
Two Scientology Web sites were reportedly hacked on Tuesday - allegedly the work of Anonymous,the Internet-based group whose public activities have come to be associated with wearing Guy Fawkes' masks.
Last week a French court fined Scientology almost a million dollars amid news of the resignation of high-profile member Paul Haggis.
Yet it may be the relentless parade of revelations about the Church's essentially ludicrous core beliefs and sociopathic practices that do it the most harm. Consider the current introductory paragraph of the St. Petersburg Times series:
Scientology leader David Miscavige is the focus of this special report from the St. Petersburg Times. Former executives of the Church of Scientology, including two of the former top lieutenants to Miscavige, have come forward to describe a culture of intimidation and violence under David Miscavige.Right on target, at Religion Dispatches, Gabriel Mckee wrote:
Religious fraud is one of the most ancient pitfalls of faith. The Didache, one of the earliest ecclesiastical texts, warns the first Christian communities against itinerant prophets who demand money in the name of the Holy Spirit. The Church of Scientology has built a business and a religion on that kind entrepreneurial charlatanism. But their business model requires good PR, and good PR requires a tight lock on secrets. At the moment, Scientology doesn’t have many secrets left, and it’s beginning to feel the impact of that liberated information.
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