Scientology on Trial in France

The Church of Scientology is in court this week in France, defending itself against charges of fraud.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Catholic Online) - The church that Hollywood built went on trial in France this week. The Church of Scientology, whose growth came largely due to its celebrity members, have charges pending which include fraud, claims of illegally prescribing drugs and bringing individuals to financial ruin.

This is the second time in six years that the church has been on trial and faces the possibility of dissolution. However, it has taken almost ten years for the case to actually come to trial. The major focus of the case is the church's AGES-Celebrity Centre and its Freedom Space bookshop in Paris

Six leaders of the church are facing charges, including Alain Rosenberg, 60, the manager of the Centre. He is facing a maximum fine of one million Euros and ten years in jail if he is convicted. In addition to being closed, the church faces a five million-euro fine.

Two of the charges were brought by women who have claimed that the church preyed on the financially. According to the London Telegraph, one woman stated she was psychologically pressured into paying thousands of pounds for lessons, books, drugs and a device called an "electrometer" which the church says can measure a person's mental state.

Lawyers for the woman, Aude-Claire Malton, claim the group took advantage of her at a time when she was "very psychologically fragile." In her charges she stated that they pressured her into spending 21,000 Euros - her life savings - on products including "purification packs" and vitamins.

Three former Scientologists, who originally were a part of the action against the church, retracted their complaints after reportedly reaching an out-of-court financial settlement. According to reports at least one of the people received approximately 33,000 Euros.

The Church of Scientology has indicated that the charges are based on a concerted effort to get them out of the country by anti-cult organizations in France. Patrick Maisonneuve, who is a lawyer for the Church of Scientology, said he would fight every charge.

"This is a process in heresy," Daniele Gounord, a spokeswoman for Scientology in France, told reporters. "It's a trial for heresy: this could only happen in France... Let people choose their own path... With this report, France has joined the ranks of banana republics."

The investigating magistrate, Jean-Christophe Hullin, is arguing that the church made a profit by placing individuals in a "state of subjection." The organization, he states, is "first and foremost a commercial business." What drives the church, according to Hullin is "a real obsession for financial remuneration."

The Church of Scientology began in the early 1950's by L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction writer, who developed a system of self-improvement called "dianetics" which he first described in 1950. In the years that followed he developed a system of doctrines and ceremonies that became a part of Scientology.

Two of the most prominent proponents of Scientology have been Tom Cruise and John Travolta, who have both increased interest and involvement in recent years.

Hubbard himself had no formal training and no academic degrees after high school. He only briefly attended college at George Washington University for two semesters before dropping out. He did receive an honorary Ph.D. by Sequoia University, which was later described as a "degree mill" and was closed by the State of California.

While the United States views the Church of Scientology as a religion, France officially named it a sect in 1995. According to Guardian News in London, the courts in France have convicted several individuals of fraud over the past decades - most notably its founder, L Ron Hubbard, in 1978.

The trial is set to run until June 10.

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Randy Sly is the Associate Editor of Catholic Online. He is a former Archbishop of the Charismatic Episcopal church who laid aside that ministry to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church.

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