Cult News

J. Gordon Melton, a somewhat specious “scholar” of what he refers to as “new religious movements” received a rather questionable gift from a foundation linked to a purported “cult,” reports Moving On.org.

Moving On.org is a Web site created by and for young adults with parents who joined the notorious “Children of God” (COG).

The Web site recently made public a portion of a 2000 IRS disclosure document that lists a $10,000.00 gift given to the so-called “International Religious Directory,” which is a pet project of Mr. Melton.

The gift-giver is the Family Care Foundation, an organization founded by COG leaders.

Infamous sexual predator “Moses” David Berg who died in 1994 once defined COG as its absolute leader.

The group taught members to sexualize their minor children and encouraged its women to become “hookers for Christ.”

COG is now known as “The Family” and has been in the news lately due to a grizzly murder-suicide.

Ricky Rodriquez the son of its current leader Karen Zerby, Berg’s widow known as “Mama Maria” to her followers, committed suicide after murdering his former nanny Angela Smith. The young man who left COG about five years ago claimed she had molested him as a child.

Ms. Smith at the time of her death was listed as a director of the Family Care Foundation, which is reportedly “an arm of The Family.”

J. Gordon Melton has often been labeled a “cult apologist” because of his friendly relationships with such groups, but until now no one knew exactly how lucrative his COG connection was through the Family Care Foundation.

Mr. Melton seems to have made something of a career out of selling his scholarly services to various fringe groups, often called “cults.” His list of sponsors and/or clients has included JZ Knight or “Ramtha,” a new age guru that funded a Melton book project. And also Aum the terrorist Japanese cult, which paid the peripatetic apologist’s expenses to come to Tokyo after they gassed that city’s subways sending thousands to hospitals.

Mr. Melton’s motto seems to be, “have apologies will travel,” apparently that is when some substantial funding is made available.

Note: Supposedly objective academic papers by J. Gordon Melton and others often called “cult apologists” have recently been linked on-line through a Web site database. Many of the authors listed such as Dick Anthony & Thomas Robbins, David Bromley, Jeffrey Hadden, James Lewis, James T. Richardson and James Tabor have been recommended either by Scientology or the Scientology-linked “new Cult Awareness Network” as “resources.” Anson Shupe who is listed once worked for lawyers linked to Scientology. Another listed author Eileen Barker has received funding from Rev. Moon. Scholar Rocheford E. Burke cashed some checks from Krishna/ISCKON while Professor Susan Palmer worked closely with the Raelians. Cult apology appears to be a meaningful source of income for some within the academic community. The Web site CESNUR, which is home for many of the papers listed is run by Massimo Introvigne, a controversial man that works closely with many groups called “cults.”

This month’s issue of Scientology’s “Celebrity” magazine (issue 363) reports that a “Steven Buscemi” has completed the group’s religious ritual known as the “Purification Rundown.”

Might this be the actor Steve Buscemi?

That is, the Brooklyn born guy best known for his edgy character roles in cult films such as “Reservoir Dogs” and “Pulp Fiction” and most recently for his turn as Tony Blundetto in “The Sopranos.”

Has Mr. Buscemi moved from “cult films” to a so-called “cult”?

No photo was run with the Scientology magazine article, but Jenna Elfmann was featured on the cover.

The so-called “Purification Rundown” apparently prescribed for “Steven Buscemi” is a process performed by Scientologists to supposedly purge them of toxins, largely accomplished through saunas and large doses of Niacin.

Tom Cruise swears by it.

And this practice is a central feature of the Scientology-linked drug rehab program called Narconon.

No independent peer-reviewed study or research has ever been published in a scientific journal to substantiate the effectiveness of the process objectively.

In fact the claim that toxins remain in the body for an extended period of time, which forms the basis of this treatment, has been dismissed by doctors.

If Steve Buscemi, known for his roles in independent films has been hooked by Scientology, it would be the first cool Hollywood type recruited by the group in quite some time.

Update: The NY Daily News later contacted Buscemi’s publicist who said, “I checked it out with him, and it’s 100% not true. It’s a different Steve Buscemi.” Scientology told the NY Daily News it is their “policy not to confirm or deny anything unless the celebrity goes public.”

The old adage “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts” may be useful to Tsunami survivors receiving attention from some specious sects and groups called “cults.”

Just like in the movie Troy something sinister and/or self-serving can be concealed in a “gift horse,” and it’s probably not Brad Pitt.

In recent days a growing array of controversial religious organizations, gurus and self-styled healers have launched efforts for Tsunami relief, but who are they really focused upon helping?

Do their programs reflect a genuine desire to assist the victims of the most horrific catastrophe of the 21st Century, or are they just there to play the disaster for publicity and possibly some new recruits?

South African Scientologists are using church branches as drop-off points for clothes and other goods targeted for relief reports IOL.

And Scientologists flying in from all over.

Scientology has sent volunteers from Australia to identify bodies reported the AAP.

English Scientologists and even a voluteer from Utah funded by an anonymous businessman are being flown in to somehow help reports Surrey On Line and the and the Salt Lake Tribune.

Scientology volunteers are known for their bright yellow jackets emblazoned with “Scientology Volunteer Ministers” worn when doing their charitable chores.

Scientology says that over 200 “volunteer ministers” are helping in tsunami-hit countries.

In a strange twist Scientology has trained Tibetan monks to help tsunami survivors through so-called “touch assists,” which seems to be Scientology’s version of the popular Pentecostal practice known as “laying on of hands” for healing. Scientology volunteers and the Buddhist monks using their method will touch survivors to help heal their trauma reports the AFP.

Another controversial group concerned about the trauma of tsunami survivors is the “Gentle Wind Project.” This organization is sending its so-called “trauma cards” to Sumatra, which supposedly have “the ability to forgive and [help users] move forward in life” according to one testimonial featured on the group’s Web site. But critics have dismissed the cards as “quackery” and a doctor warned that groups pushing such products often find “people who are desperate…and then take advantage of them.”

Madonna’s much-hyped “Kabbalah Centre” is shipping 10,000 bottles of its touted “Kabbalah Water,” which the pop diva seems to believe has spiritual properties reported MSNBC.

Wouldn’t regular bottled tap water be just as effective and much cheaper? But then that couldn’t afford a photo op with glitzy “Kabbalah Centre” labeling would it?

And then there is the so-called “Art of Living” organization led by a former associate of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi “Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.” He has dispatched his disciples to teach tsunami victims “yoga” and “meditation.”

Hey Sri Sri how about funding some conventional classrooms for children rather than pushing your “yoga”?

Another pitch comes from Guru Sri Chinmoy of New York. His followers are collecting for something called “The Oneness-Heart-Tears and Smiles” organization and say they are now “engaged in an urgent global effort to bring desperately needed relief to the survivors.”

But Chinmoy, who has been embroiled in sex scandals and called a “sleazy swami,” doesn’t seem to fit the “world harmony leader” title claimed at the group’s fund-raising Web site.

“Mata” the hugging mama guru has reportedly laid down some hard cash reported one news service.

But will she want a photo op hugging her check like “Summa Ching Hai” when she dropped some dough on the Red Cross for September 11th victims?

Meanwhile hate preacher Fred Phelps from Kansas wants everyone to know that he is “thankful” God killed Swedish citizens through this particular disaster, something about their collective sexual sins reported Raw Print.

Is that Fred smiling over there for the cameras with his “God Hates Fags” sign?

Who will land next with the next wave of volunteers?

Maybe some Falun Gongers will show up to teach exercise classes and pass out flyers, or will it be Sai baba the guru philanthropist and alleged pedophile?

Nothing new about such activities by specious groups after a disaster except the size and depth of this terrible tragedy.

Scientology volunteers were seen at Ground Zero not long after the Twin Towers collapsed. And John Travolta seemed anxious for his photo-op when he visited the site.

Then Tom Cruise launched the Scientology-linked “Downtown Medical,” located in lower Manhattan, which provided the so-called “purification rundown” for the detoxification of FDNY firemen and others that worked at Ground Zero.

People are the most vulnerable to undue influence and recruitment efforts by groups called “cults” when experiencing a personal crisis, loss and/or going through a difficult transition. When people are isolated from family, friends, their community and familiar support systems they are likely to be weakened and more susceptible.

Sound like Tsunami victims?

Meanwhile mainstream religious and relief organizations and government agencies are focused upon providing practical help to the massive numbers of survivors such as potable not magical water, medical care and the restoration of basic services through the rebuilding of infrastructure.

CNN reports that this is the largest humanitarian effort in recorded history.

Let’s hope that that these practical efforts reach the tsunami victims before any so-called “cults” exploit their vulnerabilities or use them as backdrops for some photo-op.

Tom Cruise may not be a “Top Gun” any more, but the actor has become the top cheerleader for the Church of Scientology and he recently received a medal for it.

Mr. Cruise was awarded the so-called “Freedom Medal of Valor” according to this month’s issue of International Scientology News.

Pictured with the gaudy gold medal embedded with diamonds hanging around his neck the film star that has never won an Oscar looks happy.

Photos of Tom Cruise receiving his award and subsequently being saluted by Scientology’s supreme leader David Miscavige can be seen on the Web site of Dave Touretzsky, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University.

The medal award ceremony though, actually took place in Great Britain two months ago.

The current headline reads, “Advancing Scientology on a Fully Epic Scale.”

And the Scientology news article goes on gushing about Tom Cruise’s “mission accomplishments” as follows:

“Spearheading LRH [L. Ron Hubbard] Purification tech into the heart of human disaster,” which is a nod to the actor’s efforts in New York City regarding controversial “detoxification clinics.“

“Changing the face of education at national levels,” seemingly a reference to Cruise promoting Scientology’s “study tech.”

“Eradicating the very thought of psychiatry,” Cruise shocked the public when he told one reporter that “psychiatry should be outlawed.”

The tally counted by Scientology for Tom Cruise reads rather impressively.

He has reached “250 million people” with “study tech.”

“50 million people” with his warnings about the “evil of psychiatry.”

The Hollywood star has reportedly touted the religion “across 90 nations.”

And a purported “5,000 people hear his word of Scientology – every hour,” the publication claims.

“Every minute, of every hour-someone reaches for LRH technology…simply because they know Tom Cruise is a Scientologist,” says International Scientology News.

But is that a good thing considering the troubled history of this church, which after all has been called a “cult”?

Maybe Cruise is “Tom Terrific” for Scientologists, but to many of the church’s alleged victims and critics he is more like a “cult recruiter.”

Scientology has eight Operating Thetan or OT levels and Mr. Cruise has almost made it to the top. He reportedly is now an “OT VI” and in the process of becoming an “OT VII.”

But moving up the OT levels can be quite expensive, a journey many of his religious brethren cannot easily afford.

However, within the luxurious, cocoon-like and pampered existence of celebrity Scientologists this doesn’t seem to cause much concern.

“I think it’s a privilege to call yourself a Scientologist,” Cruise told those gathered at the award ceremony.

“That’s what drives me,” he said. “I know that we have an opportunity to really help for the first time, effectively change people’s lives and I am dedicated to that. I’m absolutely, uncompromisingly dedicated to that.”

Other sources have been somewhat less sanguine in their assesment of Scientology.

Time Magazine called the organization the “Cult of Greed… a hugely profitable global racket that survives by intimidating members and critics in a Mafia-like manner.”

But Mr. Cruise apparently doesn’t care. After all he’s got his medal.

Since CultNews reported about Scientology and its “stress test” tables set up near NYC subway entrances, feedback keeps coming in from all over.

It seems like Scientology may be engaged in a nationwide holiday recruitment blitz, often focused on city shoppers and mass transit commuters.

One Christmas shopper in Chicago said, “I noticed that the Scientologists had set up…(recruitment stations) in front of Marshall Fields” department store on State St.

Someone in San Francisco tells CultNews that Scientologists have also set up shop near a subway stop in that city.

The source in Northern California says devoted members can be seen hawking L. Ron Hubbard books and working the E-meter (a lie-detector type device that Scientology claims can help “clear” the mind) right by an Old Navy Store on Market Street.

Here are some photos from San Francisco to peruse.

Aren’t cell phone cameras great?

Another response came from Boston where Scientology set up its “stress test” tables “in the middle of Cambridge’s Harvard Square subway station.”

And last month around Thanksgiving the controversial church had the same tables strewn along sidewalks in Hollywood advised one visitor to Los Angeles (a city that named a street “L. Ron Hubbard Way”).

A Portland, Oregon resident says that in that city Scientologists have been using “tweenies” (pre-teens) to hand out flyers in the bus mall during rush hour.

“I just think it’s wrong to use these young children to promote something that they probably don’t even really have a full understanding of,” she told CultNews.

One NYC commuter has officially complained to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) about Scientologists obstructing public places.

The complaint read as follows:

“The Scientologist cult has been setting up ‘Stress Test’ tables in the Shuttle passage going from the 42nd St. and Lexington Ave. Station. They aggressively harass passengers walking along the corridor to take their ‘Stress Test’ in an effort to recruit them…their tables block the free flow of pedestrian traffic in the passage.”

An MTA official responded, “We regret if you experienced difficulty while using our subway system. New York City Transit and the Transit Bureau of the New York City Police Department are also continuing to work together in an effort to prohibit panhandling in the subway system. The Transit Bureau is vigilant in thwarting illegal activity and enforcing subway rules…soliciting for charities is not legal on our trains and in our stations.”

The concerned New Yorker later surmised, “I am guessing that they are putting the pressure on now [because]…people who are feeling emotionally down or weak at this time of year [present]…a greater chance of recruitment.”

Another reader told CultNews that Scientology is also working Horton Plaza in downtown San Diego.

“My husband was accosted by them last week, offering a ‘Stress Test,'” she said.

Here is what her husband recalled.

“As I’m starting to walk through Horton Plaza to get back to work I look up to see these two grinning zombie like idiots, one girl, one guy, taking a couple of steps toward me.”

“‘Excuse me sir would you like to take a free stress test?’ said guy zombie idiot.”

“I stop, look at them (they looked genuinely concerned) then looked over to where they were gesturing and saw a card table, some folding chairs and pamphlets.”

“‘It’ll only take a few minutes,’ said the girl zombie idiot.”

“Then something went *ding* in my dull mind–Dianetics? I asked.”

“‘Yes it is,’ said the guy zombie idiot.”

“‘Oh f–k me,’ I half-way yelled ‘bunch of f—ing freaks,’ and started to walk away.”

“‘It’s changed millions of lives sir,’ said girl zombie idiot a bit defensively.”

“I took another two or three steps, stopped [and] turn to face them, ‘So has heroin and it’s nothing to be proud of.’ I think I hurt the zombie idiots feelings.”

Hardly the holiday spirit, but maybe that’s what happens when you bug busy people in San Diego.

This December Scientologists also pitched a big yellow tent in Jacksonville, Florida for the purpose of tutoring visitors on the “fundamentals” of their faith near a popular plaza. The traveling missionary show’s next stop is Miami reports The Daily Record.

It appears Christmas may signal a time for faithful Scientologists to make some sort of holiday push in memory of their messiah L. Ron Hubbard.

Even Tom Cruise got into the spirit apparently targeting his recruitment efforts. And the former Top Gun is aiming high.

Mr. Cruise sent a Christmas card that reportedly promotes Scientology to international soccer star David Beckham and his wife Victoria, once known as “Posh Spice” reported The London Mirror.

The actor told the power couple he had made a donation to his church on their behalf.

There has been speculation that Cruise’s recent friendship with the Beckhams is somehow linked to the hope that he can scoop them up for Scientology.

Oh well, some Scientologists may shiver in the cold this Winter pitching “stress tests,” while other more pampered celebrity members get off with a Christmas card mailing.

But for those who want a little holiday fun at Scientology’s expense, pick up the CD of the hit spoof that mocks the controversial church and its celebrity members now playing in LA titled “A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant.”

And for those who would like to read the very special sacred story of Scientology that explains the foundation of its beliefs see this website.

Scientologists like Tom Cruise typically pay to learn about this story, but because of the Internet it can be a free Christmas gift.

Ho, ho, ho, and a happy L. Ron Hubbard holiday to all!

Scientology must be getting pretty desperate for recruits. The organization that boasts celebrity supporters such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta has literally gone underground in an apparent effort to dig up new members.

Devotees of the controversial church, which has been called a “cult,” set up shop working shifts with their E-meters shilling “stress tests” to passer-byes in New York’s Grand Central Station.

A concerned passenger also told CultNews that Scientologists could be seen doing the same around access points to the PATH trains, which links New Jersey residents to Manhattan.

Scientology’s “stress test” often utilizes an “E-meter.” This contraption involves holding metal cans connected to a box with a moving needle that supposedly measures the mind, or at least that what Scientologists believe as an article of faith.

The founder of Scientology L. Ron Hubbard reportedly claimed that the E-meter could register mental aberrations or “engrams” caused by traumas.

Counseling or “auditing” sessions within Scientology use the E-meter to help knock out those nasty engrams.

Hubbard once reportedly claimed this process could cure blindness and even improve a person’s intelligence and appearance.

Maybe that’s what makes Tom Cruise so smart and gave John Travolta his good looks?

However, it doesn’t seem to be working so well for Kirstie Alley lately. The star of the new show “Fat Actress” now weighs in at over 200.

For more details about Scientology and its wares see Time Magazine’s “Scientology the Cult of Greed.”

But now back to the Scientologists working NYC subways for fresh recruits.

A concerned passenger told CultNews that the MTA transit authority was contacted to find out if it’s legal for these religious recruiters to go underground in Manhattan.

It turns out that Scientology may be breaking some rules.

“We regret if you experienced difficulty while using our subway system,” MTA responded. “Please be aware that the Transit Bureau of the New York City Police Department is vigilant in thwarting illegal activity in the subway system, and maintains an extensive police presence with officers patrolling our facilities at all times, both in uniform and undercover,” the official advised.

MTA also said, “Supervision in the Transit Bureau has been alerted to the conditions you reported at the 42nd Street-Grand Central Station, and will take steps to deploy their officers accordingly. In addition, personnel in our Division of Station Operations will monitor the location in question and any illegal activity observed will be reported immediately to field supervision.”

But why is Scientology so desperate that its devotees are working underground?

Can it be that its aging stars are no longer the draw they once were?

Maybe Madonna and her Kabbalah Centre “cult,” which includes Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Ashton Kutcher and other younger stars, has effectively bumped the old Hollywood “cult” favorite.

Perhaps the subways may soon replace Scientology’s “Celebrity Centers” and the tabloids as the most common venue to learn about the controversial church.

Tom Cruise is running in a relay today through LA as an “Olympic torchbearer,” honored for his so-called “humanitarian” work according to a Yahoo Press Release.

Samsung Electronics sponsored the actor citing his supposed “humanitarian” efforts through such organizations as “Applied Scholastics International,” “Hollywood Education and Literacy Project (HELP)” and “The New York Rescue Workers Detoxification Project.”

All these organizations have links to Scientology.

So isn’t Cruise really just shilling for Scientology rather than acting as a “humanitarian”? And running the relay as part of his ongoing personal marathon promoting the controversial church?

One example is the actor’s support of so-called “detoxification.”

Recently the star said, “It’s been almost three years since the attacks [on the World Trade Center] and thousands are still suffering”

The former “Top Gun” turned “Last Samurai” has opened “detoxification facilities” under the banner of the “NY Rescue Workers Detoxification Project,” which is based upon the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard founder of the Church of Scientology.

Cruise’s sister/spokesperson and fellow Scientologist says her brother “will open several more of the facilities through the rest of the year” reported Agence France-Presse.

However, the claims that form the basis for treatment at the clinics Cruise promotes were recently described as “irresponsible” and “pseudo-science,” then subsequently shunned by public schools in California reported the San Francisco Chronicle.

“We’re not going to have cults and religions preaching their line in our schools,” said a California Board of Education President.

The “preaching” he’s talking about is through school programs sponsored by Narconon, another project linked to Scientology.

The key concept behind Narconon treatment, just like Cruise’s clinics, is that the body somehow stores toxins indefinitely in fat. Scientologists preach that these poisons can be purged through a combination of sweating in a sauna along with doses of niacin and cooking oil.

Medical experts publicly repudiated this theory and were quoted at length within the San Francisco Chronicle.

This specific course of treatment is commonly called the “purification rundown,” which is a Scientology religious rite repackaged for sale through various programs linked to the controversial church, such as the Cruise sponsored project in New York.

Cruise tells rescue workers they can rid themselves of toxins picked up by working at Ground Zero trough the “rundown.”

But this approach is “not grounded in science,” a drug counselor told the San Francisco Chronicle.

The Narconon program in California, just like the clinics Cruise touts, claim that residual toxins exit the body in colored ooze.

A California medical doctor dismissed this claim and stated, “I’m not aware of any data that show that going into a sauna detoxifies you from toxins of any kind. ”

But for Mr. Cruise this is not a matter of scientific data, instead the actor relies upon his religious faith.

The Hollywood star like his fellow Scientologist and Narconon spokesperson Kirstie Alley firmly believes in the preaching of L. Ron Hubbard.

Hubbard a Sci-fi writer turned prophet called his “purification rundown” a “tissue-cleansing regimen.”

However, a San Francisco School Superintendent summed it up quite differently. She said, “teaching the kids…a philosophical or religious belief, as opposed to science” is a “no [no].”

So shouldn’t New Yorkers “just say no” to Tom Cruise too?

The chief medical officer for the New York City Fire Department seems to think so. He concluded that there is no “objective evidence” to support Cruise’s clinic crusade.

And since when is promoting “irresponsible” “pseudo-science” without “objective evidence” considered a “humanitarian” endeavor?

Tom Cruise will no doubt doggedly continue in his faithful marathon run for Scientology, but should he be acclaimed for it?

After seven years of wrangling through a process of seemingly endless litigation the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Scientologist Lisa McPherson is over.

Some see it as the practical finale of a bitter battle. This view certainly includes the latest judge to sit on the case, who ardently encouraged a settlement to bring him some relief reports the St. Petersburg Times.

However, for former Scientologists who often suffer in silence and others that have placed themselves at risk by opposing the organization Time Magazine once called the “Cult of Greed,” this ending may seem somewhat disappointing.

Many would prefer to see the “cult” face the proverbial music in a court of law, instead of getting off the hook through a settlement in the nick of time.

And this settlement includes the usual “gag order” preferred by Scientology reported the St. Petersburg Times, which prohibits the plaintiffs from disclosing its terms and just how much cash Scientology parted with to essentially buy their silence.

Lisa McPherson is dead and nothing will bring her back, but it would have been meaningful for Scientology to be compelled through a court proceeding to explain its treatment of the 36-year-old woman, which led up to her untimely death.

It appears that millions of dollars have changed hands and the McPherson family has been well provided for.

It is also likely that the plaintiff’s counsel Ken Dandar walked away with at least a million dollars from the settlement, though he offered cryptically, “Things are not always what they appear to be.”

Perhaps suing Scientology is like mud wrestling with a pig, the litigant and his or her lawyer gets covered with mud, while the pig actually has a good time.

The Church of Scientology seems to have turned litigation into something of a religious rite. Its founder L. Ron Hubbard reportedly prescribed litigation as a means of battering and/or silencing critics.

After seven years of battering the McPherson family finally found that a settlement was preferable to wrestling a judgment against Scientology in court.

No doubt Scientology will spin the story its own way.

The organization will probably tell its faithful and anyone else that’s listening that there was never really any substance to support the Lisa McPherson lawsuit.

And loyalists from Tom Cruise to the not so elite “Sea Org” (full-time staffers) will likely accept whatever explanation the organization offers.

The rest of us will never know the details.

We can only surmise that something must have gone terribly wrong to send Ms. McPherson over the edge running naked down a Florida street. And something even more bizarre may have led to her death after many days of confinement under the direct supervision of Scientologists.

Scientology has taken steps recently to make sure its “religious services” are essentially exempt from further lawsuits. Its members now routinely sign documents that largely immunize the organization from meaningful accountability and allow Scientology sweeping prerogatives regarding such things as medical situations and decisions, not to mention confidential files.

This all makes it much more difficult for another Lisa McPherson lawsuit to arise against the organization in the future.

Other than the bad press Scientology endured there will be no reckoning regarding Lisa McPherson.

First criminal charges were dismissed concerning the death of Lisa McPherson and now there won’t even be a civil trial.

Has Scientology topped O.J. Simpson?

But of course there is that undisclosed settlement they had to pay out.

However, given the purported vast wealth of the anointed “Cult of Greed” this may have amounted to little more than a quick dip into petty cash.

The Lisa McPherson wrongful death lawsuit ends, not with a bang, but a whimper

An interesting document has found its way onto the Internet that should be required reading for Church of Scientology celebrities such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta.

Joe Keldani, a long-time Scientologist trained by that organization’s elite “Guardians Office,” is speaking out about the way the church allegedly managed his marriage and family life.

Keldani once headed Narconon in Canada. This is a “drug rehabilitation program” based upon the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology’s founder and strongly supported by former Cheers star Kirstie Alley.

Keldani calls his Internet postings “Justice Statements” per church doctrine and shares them publicly at a Google Group.

It seems this veteran Scientologist doesn’t see the church in the glowing light that stars like Travolta and Cruise try to imbue it with.

Keldani claims Scientology leaders once were “coaching [his]…wife’s divorce affidavit.” And that they “deliberately and without care destroyed [his] family and…many others.”

Scientology celebs certainly are familiar with divorce.

Lisa Marie Presley has gone to court three times to cut marital bonds, Tom Cruise twice and Kirstie Alley dumped her husband Parker Stevenson.

Often during these divorces were rumors that Scientology might have been a cause in these breakups.

According to Keldani the organization certainly played a role in his divorce through “relentless past and present efforts to separate [him] from [his] wife and kids.”

Keldani claims Scientology is guilty of an “abuse of human rights.”

Ironic considering the church’s campaign for “human rights” in Germany, which has been ardently espoused by Tom Cruise and John Travolta, complete with full-page ads endorsed by many of their Hollywood friends.

Maybe these stars should start a campaign for Joe Keldani’s “human rights”?

Keldani says his “wife of over 20 years” was “placed (according to her) in a very stressful, concrete, dirty, car exhaust fumes filled room, under [a] garage for more than a day (3 days)…to reconsider her marriage.”

Is this Scientology’s version of marriage counseling?

Keldani purportedly spent “$30,000.00 and almost a year away from [his] family” before he gave up on the process. In the end he says Scientology “executives, [drew] up a formula” for his wife to “legally break up with [him]” that “included paying [the church] another $40,000.00.”

Is it possible that Scientology prescribed “formulas” for the divorces of Nicole Kidman and the first Mrs. Tom Cruise Mimi Rogers?

Hollywood is known for its prenuptial agreements, maybe there is something called a Scientology post-nuptial too?

Keldani explains that Scientology told his kids they didn’t “need a father.” And says the church’s “International management obviously place no value on the family” and want “robotic, unquestioning, unwavering staff.”

The estranged father says he “sold everything…properties…businesses” and ultimately “wasted” “hundreds of thousands of dollars” on Scientology.

However, despite all his sacrifices in the end the church “declared [Keldani} a suppressive person [SP]…making it a crime for [his] daughters to talk to [him]…”

This appears to be the Scientology equivalent of being excommunicated.

And there are more juicy chunks of information from the former insider.

Keldani says Scientology’s top leader David Miscavige’s “sexual exploits, admitted to by his co-worker and personal councilor” include “sleeping with his wife and another woman.”

Is that called a “menage a trois” or a “trio la Scientology”?

He also claims that branches of Scientology have shrunk to “half or even in some cases a fifth or a tenth their size of the late 70’s” while the church reports its “expanding.”

John Travolta and Tom Cruise pride themselves on having reached what Scientologists call “clear” and moving up its spiritual tiers, which are graded from Operating Thetan One (OT1) to Operating Thetan Eight (OT8).

But according to Keldani the stars have nothing to look forward to.

He says, “OT levels have been sabotaged or have been ruined.” And that “the first few hundred OT 8 got ill and had to be recalled for repair.”

Will the former “Top Gun” turned “Last Samurai” soon need repair?

John Travolta’s multi-year string of movie flops may mean he is nearing “recall” time.

Scientology’s stars are pampered within lavish “Celebrity Centers.” But it seems devoted full-time workers are not quite so lucky.

“Thousands of Scientologists are stuck out in the field working their buts off to make enough money to go OT (spiritually free) but can’t afford it,” says Keldani.

He adds that many “are fighting to pay off their incredible debts. Debts they incurred paying for training…The entire package now costing about 300,000.00 [dollars] per person.”

And some Scientology “staff sleep 10 or 12 deep in hotel or motel sized rooms,” he advised.

Meanwhile the church’s top leader “Miscavige, has his own physical fitness trainer while the rest of the common staff are forbidden to use the public facilities,” Keldani says.

Joe Keldani paints a pretty bleak picture of Scientology in general and family life within the group in particular.

Hollywood stars may be treated like royalty, but it seems that the grunts in the group have a decidedly different life within the church that has often been called a “cult.”

Madonna was photographed Saturday, exiting the LA Kabbalah Center wearing a T-shirt with “Cult Member” printed boldly across it reports the New York Post.

Well aware of the paparazzi’s penchant for hanging out at her haunts for photo-ops, this was obviously a well-planned ploy to “send a message” to her fans.

Madonna’s T-shirt logo is an apparent attempt to mock the notion that her cherished “Kabbalah Center” is a “cult” and therefore she is a “cult member.”

Of course a “cult member” rarely thinks he or she is in a “cult,” and such denial can be seen as simply a part of the ongoing process of indoctrination within the group used to dismiss criticism and reinforce its mindset.

The group may even choose to define the word “cult” as anyone deeply devoted to almost anything in an effort to obscure its real significance.

Another apologetic tactic is categorizing the word “cult” itself as a form of “persecution,” put forth by “jealous” detractors engaged in pejorative labeling.

Madonna’s Kabbalah Center has used these strategies.

However, the most obvious question remains, “Has Madonna joined a ‘cult’?”

A red flag for the public is the very fact that the group and its foremost benefactor have a need to dismiss and/or denigrate the term.

Another thing is also becoming increasingly evident, don’t expect Madonna to snap out of it any time soon.

The former “Material Girl” who reportedly now goes by the name of “Esther” has largely cast has her lot with the controversial group.

Madonna’s ego has evidently entwined with her religious mentor Philip Berg the founder of the Kabbalah Center. And it seems the star is so deeply invested she feels her personal equity is at stake.

In this sense Madonna is not unlike a “cult member” in a group like “Heaven’s Gate” or the “Waco Davidians,” trapped in a mindset that doesn’t allow the star to see the extent of the group’s influence and control over her life.

Fortunately the Kabbalah Center appears to be more focused on earthly assets and cash rather than stockpiling weapons or escaping this world in some spaceship.

But from her CD “Ray of Light” to recent children’s books and her decision not to perform on the “Sabbath,” each move in Madonna’s life increasingly seems to reflect “cult member” thinking.

The 1980s pop diva’s new persona can be a lesson though to her fans.

That is, if a strong, independent, “street smart” woman like Madonna can become a “cult member,” perhaps almost anyone potentially could.

And as for the Kabbalah Center, its missionary Madonna has made it the “‘cult’ du jour” for celebrities, arguably eclipsing its predecessor the Church of Scientology.

Scientology stars like Tom Cruise and John Travolta are aging and/or fading, but the Kabbalah Center is increasingly the “new religion” chosen by rising young stars and celebrities that seem to crave achieving “cult member” status just like their childhood icon Madonna.