FE AT UR E
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O CTO B ER 26, 2017
TH E O NTA R I O N
F E AT U R E PH OTO BY ALO R A G RI FFITH S
Guelph’s new
bogeyman :
The Church of Scientology TONY ORTEGA ON WHETHER WE SHOULD BE SCARED |
W I L L W E L L I N G TO N
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n September, The Church of Scientology began renting 40 Baker St. in downtow n Guelph. A s the Guelph Mercury Tribune and Guelph Today reported, the Baker Street space formerly housed Chalmers Community Services Centre and the Out of Poverty Society. Now, it is home to a Scientology Continental Liaison Office (CLO). The Church previously rented an office in Erin, Ont., according to Guelph Today. Founded by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in the early ’50s, Scientology originated with Hubbard’s theory of Dianetics, first outlined in the magazine Astounding Science Fiction. Dianetics proposes, with scarce evidence, that many of humanity’s ills stem from traumas, or engrams, recorded in the “reactive mind.” These traumas can be cleared away through “auditing,” a process in which one grips the tincan-like handles of an “E-meter” and responds to an auditor’s questions and prompts. Soon “going Clear” became only one step in what Scientology calls “the Bridge to Total Freedom.” Beyond Clear, Scientologists begin to audit the traumas that their inner beings, or “thetans,” experienced in past lives, sometimes thousands of years ago on different planets. After taking enough courses, many of which cost thousands of dollars, they may ascend through the eight levels of “Operating Thetan.” Operating Thetan Level III is when Scientologists learn the story, famously spoofed on South Park, of galactic overlord Xenu. Many Scientologists never reach that level and upper-level members are sworn to secrecy, convinced the information may grievously harm
“There are a lot of reasons to be concerned about Scientology having any presence in Ontario.” P H O T O C O U R T E S Y O F S A L FA L K O David Miscavige leads the Church of Scientology
the unprepared. Some locals have expressed concern about the presence of the Church of Scientology in Guelph, planning a protest for Oct. 28 outside the CLO. The Church has dismissed those locals as a hate group. The Ontarion reached out to Tony Ortega, a journalist and prominent critic of Scientology, to ask him whether Guelph residents should be scared of the Church. “There are a lot of reasons to be concerned about Scientology having any presence in Ontario,” said Ortega. “There’s a reason why they’re so controversial, there’s a reason why they’ve earned a reputation for bullying and retaliating against people.” Scientology is not in great shape, said Ortega. While the Church claims millions of members worldwide, Ortega and other critics have calculated a more modest total. “We think the worldwide active membership is under 20,000. This is a tiny group,” said Ortega. “It’s been a really rough 10-15 years. A lot of people have left,” he said. Many prominent defectors, including King of Queens actor Leah Remini and screenwriter
Paul Haggis, have denounced the Church’s practices in books and documentaries. Scientology, said Ortega, is a bureaucracy like no other. There are Class V Orgs, the face of Scientology, where courses and auditing take place. There are Advanced Orgs, where parishioners go for high-level training. And there are a slew of affiliated organizations with different focuses and mandates. CLOs, like the new Guelph office, act as middle management offices, relaying data between local Orgs and international management. They don’t recruit new Scientologists or offer auditing. “This is not a place the public is invited,” said Ortega. “I would be shocked if they do any recruiting where they set up a table out front and try to get you to do a stress test.” Ortega speculates that their stay in Guelph is only temporary. The Church bought the former Hockley Highlands Inn and Conference Centre in Mono, Ont., in 2009, and plan to turn it into a permanent CLO, Advanced Org, and Scientology retreat. That facility was expected to open in 2012, but as of yet no
dates have been announced. “It’s hard to predict how long they’ll be in temporary digs in Guelph,” said Ortega. Ortega suggests that Guelphites shouldn’t be scared of the Scientologists in town. But perhaps they should be scared for them. The Guelph office, like all administrative Scientology establishments, will be staffed by members of the Sea Organization, or Sea Org. The Scientology website describes the Sea Org as a “fraternal religious order.” Ortega described it as “the single most important organization” in the Church. “These are the people who have dedicated their entire lives to Scientology,” Ortega said. “They sign a billion-year contract promising to come back lifetime after lifetime, they work 365 days a years, they may go years before they see a family member.” According to the Scientology website, Sea Org members “work long hours and live communally with … all expenses associated with their duties provided by the Church. They also receive an allowance to purchase personal items.” According to critics like Ortega,
that view of the Sea Org is euphemistic at best. Most Sea Org members are the children of Scientologists, according to the website Ex-Scientology Kids. Ex-Scientology Kids alleges that Sea Org members are forbidden from having children and even forced to have abortions. They live in cramped quarters with up to a dozen members in a room, and often marry young just to get some privacy. They are “disconnected” from their families and work extraordinarily hard. The Scientology website also notes that “Sea Organization members participate in Scientology training and auditing during a portion of each day.” Ortega doubts they have a chance. “Because they’re working 112 hours a week, and getting only four or five hours of sleep a night, they don’t have time to do Scientology! I have talked to former Sea Org members who have been in for 20 years, and they hadn’t reached Clear — they had barely taken any courses at all!” he said. “It’s kind of like if the Vatican opened a business office that had no praying going on,” said Ortega. The Church of Scientology’s website advertises the opportunity to pursue “true spiritual enlightenment and freedom for all.” “But those poor Sea Org workers at the CLO in Guelph, they’re just going to be pushing papers, man,” said Ortega. “They’re just going to be putting together charts and graphs and working 16 hours a day. I feel terrible for them. They’re cut off from their family. They’re really not a threat to Canadians that live around them. But they definitely are people who are being abused.” The Church of Scientology did not respond to The Ontarion’s request for comment by the time