Xenophon V. Xenu: The Galactic Battle For Australia’s Soul
An Australian senator has called for a criminal investigation into Scientology, alleging that the cult is “an abusive, manipulative, violent and criminal organisation”. The senator’s name is Nick Xenophon. This is going to be good.
From the Sydney Morning Herald:
Senator Xenophon yesterday used parliamentary privilege to attack the church, after being contacted by a number of former Scientologists who accused the organisation of ”shocking” crimes.
”Scientology is not a religious organisation; it is a criminal organisation that hides behind its so-called religious beliefs,” he told the Senate.
”The letters received by me which were written by former followers in Australia contain extensive allegations of crimes and abuses that are truly shocking – crimes against them and crimes they say they were coerced into committing.
[snip]
Senator Xenophon said their correspondence implicated the organisation in a range of crimes, including forced imprisonment, coerced abortions, embezzlement of church funds, physical violence, intimidation and blackmail.
We can’t imagine a more appropriately named crusader to take on Scientology in Australia — where, by the way, it has spent an extraordinary amount of resources and developed a strong foothold. We have to think that “The Rise of Xenophon” was prophesied somewhere by L. Ron Hubbard, and that his followers are rummaging through the archives as we speak searching desperately for written instructions on how to defeat him.
The letters from former members that Xenophon introduced included allegations of torture and the horrible tale of one man who lost two children to what he claims are Scientology-related accidents — one died after she fell down the stairs while wandering unattended in a church building, and another died after ingesting potassium chloride, allegedly used in the “purification rundown” at his house.
The church responded that the allegations are from “disgruntled former members who use hate speech”.
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Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
I don’t get what difference ‘parliamentary privelege’ makes.
The senator is airing allegations made by constituents. That’s what I would hope he would do if some group purified my kid to death with acid.
I would imagine it means he can’t get sued, Tastic. Which is a big worry for anyone who speaks out against Scientology.
*popcorn*
It’s about time someone had big enough brass low-hangers to drag this bunch of scam artists into the light.
If an inquiry goes how it went in Victoria, Scientology will be vindicated again (High Court 1983). Anyhow, I am grateful to the Scientologists for exposing events in Chelmsford Private Hospital (my mum was there). It was a stew of detention, torture, sex crimes and fatal drugs. Psychiatry is still largely above the law. So, our kids are prescribed risky psychiatric drugs in record numbers.
I’m sorry Linda… I thought the topic here was Scientology’s criminal and immoral activities in Australia… not the EVIL PSYCHIATRISTS Scientology likes to blame everything on.
I’ll wait by the mailbox for my $5 check from Pfizer for making this comment.
Did you get $5 from Pfizer? I only got a Xenophone T-Shirt and free Prozac. Seriously, though Scientology only attacks psychiatry because it considers psychiatry and psychiatric drugs to be their competition. And because Hubbard was a manic depressive.
Oh, no no no, Linda. You don’t get to shift attention away from the Scientology organisation’s crimes so easily this time. Cult spokesthingies have often managed to change the subject by pointing at something else “over there,” like Evil Psychs, or the historic or current misbehavior of established churches.
Nope. Coerced abortions? That’s getting attention.
Slave labour, human trafficking, abuse, child labour, all the lovely little things critics have been warning of for years are now being dragged, squalling and kicking, into the light. There, society shall scrutinize Scientology behavior and it will be judged unworthy to share the planet with decent, honest folk.
Hubbard’s goal was to “clear the planet.”
We’re working on it. A planet without Scientology would be just that one tick safer for everyone seeking enlightenment and wisdom.
Protip: Don’t take medical advice from a college dropout, or spiritual advice from a pulp sci-fi writer.
Thank you Senator Xenophon!
Scientology was not vindicated in Victoria, Linda. In fact the Anderson report was unquestionably damning of the actions of this criminal organization.
Indeed, let us hope that this new inquiry proceeds in a similar fashion.
I am optimistic that this investigation will go further than the one in Victoria in 1983. There are more people now that are less afraid. The church is shrinking, its war budget is shrinking. Critics opposing Scientology have for many years faced a tough uphill battle. Now, they are over the other side rolling down that hill especially after the Nightline interview with Tommy Davis, the French trial, Mark Headley’s book, and now this. People are not protesting as much because they don’t need to. The only trouble Anonymous has is running out of popcorn. Scientology is self destructing. The end is nigh.
Also Linda psychiatry is not above the law. Hubbard hated psychiatry because he was mentally ill. He had bipolar disorder and may also have been schizophrenic. I imagine he was frightened of being institutionalized.
@Linda Vij
Your derail-fu is weak. Nothing about psychiatry here (though your buddies at CCHR might wish it so).
All that’s happenning is that the truth is coming out. And Scientology, as Jack Nicholson said to Tom Cruise once, can’t “handle” the truth.
This guy sounds like a Nazis. Reminiscent of what they said about the Jews in the 30′s.
And what exactly was it “they” said about the Jews in the 30s?
You do know that the anti-Semitic propaganda was fabricated, right?
These accusations against Scientology are not fabricated. Ex-members across the world, people who never met, are telling the same, sad stories. Families, life savings, futures destroyed by a greedy, rapacious, predatory cult!
How amusing that you choose to mention the Nazis. And that some spokesthing yesterday claimed Mr. Xenophon’s call out was something a “totalitarian regime” would do.
Scientology is very totalitarian. Hubbard said, “The criminal always accuses others of his crimes.” He must’ve got that right, because the Scientologists are out flinging accusations that actually describe their organization quite accurately.
Convicted of FRAUD in France this fall, largest ever domestic infiltration of government in US history, guilty of largest ever libel case in Canadian history (against a Crown Attorney no less!), recent major expose of abusive probably criminal behavior in the St Petersburg Times (google the Truth Rundown)…ya right, some “church”.
Seems that they control and abuse the little guy members so that the celebrity members can feel like big shots.
Scientologists have the right to whatever crazy religious beliefs they want, but stop the abuse and criminal activities and I’m pretty sure the general public will stop complaining.
Anyone who says the High Court judgement of 1983 did not vindicate Scientology must read it. Nick Xenophon garnered 7 possible criminal cases. But to thereby deem 1,000′s of Australians a criminal group is hysteria or a set agenda. Why such haste to find Scientology not a religion and bar its tax status even before confirmation? Pyschiatrist, Harry Bailey, involved in the Victorian attack on Scientology, thought its firm stand against Big Pharma and psychiatric overkill very relevant (he was later outed for atrocities at Chelmsford Private Hospital). There are vast double standards. The Therapeutic Goods Administration notes Australian kids young as 5 have suffered strokes, heart failure, convulsions and hallucinations due to psychiatric drugs. Some have died. Some Australian kids under a year old are now on psych drugs! Parliamentary inquiry? Not a hint!
Linda, Scientology wasn’t vindicated by the High Court. All the court did was decide the definition of “religion” and that Scientology therefore met the test for tax exemption, even though it’s founder may have been a charlatan. The Court did not comment on the actions of organised Scientology. It did hold that charlatanism is the price we pay for religious freedom.
Senator Xenophon did not say that all Scientologists are criminals. He said that the organisation is.
Scientology helped kill John T’s son because they wouldnt acknowledge that Johns son had Autism which means he should have been taking drugs to help with potential fits. He had a fit and hit his head and died. This cult is EVIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If Justice Murphy thought Scientology had done criminal acts when he deemed it a religion (1983)he could have said. No allegation of criminality from his era ever stuck! But beliefs of any group, including anti religious ones can always be debated. Epilepsy causes fits, not autism. John Travolta’s son stopped taking anti-epileptic drugs, due to liver damage (a liver can finally fail if damaged long enough. My first husband had epilepsy so I know that choosing between risky drugs and the peril of epilepsy is an awful dilemna for many families, with varying and sometimes tragic outcomes – both ways.