Action Series 1: CST Independence

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Admin To skip to Action Plan, click here.

In the movie, Gladiator, which is loosely based on history, Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (portrayed by Richard Harris) is dying. Even though he has a son (Commodus, played by Joaquin Phoenix), Marcus requests General Maximus (Russell Crowe) to assume leadership of Rome upon his death and return power to the Roman Senate. When Commodus finds out that Maximus – not he – will be appointed Emperor, he secretly murders his father, assumes the throne and enslaves Maximus.

Later, when the opportunity arises, Maximus enters into a conspiracy with Roman Senator Gracchus and offers to lead a five thousand man army into Rome in a coup against Commodus.

The following exchange then takes place between the two:

Gracchus: And after your glorious coup, what then? You take your five thousand and… leave?
Maximus: Yes, I will leave. The soldiers will stay here for your protection, under the guidance of the Senate.
Gracchus: So, after Rome’s all yours, you just give it back to the people. Tell me why.
Maximus: Because that was the last wish of a dying man.

So, too, did LRH have a last wish to end one-man rule. He created an elaborate corporate structure with power distributed among seven boards of trustees and directors in three religious corporations.

Alas, so, too, was his will subverted by a man with a lust for absolute power.

This is step one of an action plan for Scientologists to carry out the dying wish of LRH to end one-man rule of Scientology and implement his plan of checks and balances.

Three Major Myths Re: Church Leadership

A little false data stripping may be required for some readers. False data stripping means the removal of false data, and is based on a discovery by LRH that it “can be nearly impossible to hat (i.e., train) anyone who is sitting on false data on the subject you’re trying to hat him on.”[1]

There are three major myths (false data) in Scientology on the subject of church leadership.

Myth One: RTC is the Senior-Most Echelon in Scientology

Scientologists have been conditioned to believe that Religious Technology Center (RTC) is the senior-most echelon in Scientology. Most Scientologists have not even heard of Church of Spiritual Technology (CST). Those who have heard of it probably regard CST on the order of, “Oh yeah, they’re the ones who put all the Technology on platinum plates and stored them underground in different places around the world.”

The truth of the matter is that LRH bequeathed[2] to CST an option to purchase from RTC its sole raisons d’etre (reasons for existence): the trademarks and Advanced Technology of Scientology. With a mere stroke of a pen, and $200, CST can virtually eliminate RTC. Thus, LRH gave to CST the right of inspection into, and oversight of, RTC. Not the other way around.

You don’t need to take our word for it, click here and here to see the documents.

Myth Two: LRH Intended David Miscavige to Rule Scientology

The second major myth is that LRH passed the torch of one-man rule to Miscavige. The truth is that LRH intended one-man rule to end upon his death. He distributed power among seven boards of trustees and directors and three religious corporations with multiple cross checks and balances among them. LRH Intent.

General Director: A person who oversees the affairs of a corporation, elects and removes officers of the corporation in accordance with state law and the bylaws of the corporation.

Trustee: A legal term for a holder of property on behalf of a beneficiary. In this case, the beneficiaries are Scientologists. LRH selected the trustees, appointed them for life, and empowered them to elect and remove general directors of their respective corporations.

Within this corporate structure, LRH established CSI – not RTC – as the “Mother Church” to:

oversee and manage the ecclesistical affairs of all other churches of Scientology to ensure and maintain the purity and integrity of the religion of Scientology. Further, the Church shall be responsible for the overall propagation of the religion of Scientology throughout the World and for the enforcement of the ecclesiastical tenets of the religion as set forth in the Scriptures.[3]

Miscavige was merely one of seven of the original trustees of RTC. The RTC Articles of Incorporation were amended in LRH’s lifetime, and RTC governance fell to a board of trustees and a board of general directors. (RTC Bylaws)

Myth Three: Chairman of the Board of RTC is the Top Position in Scientology

The third myth is that Chairman of the Board RTC is the top position in Scientology. To begin with, LRH did not single out any one member of either RTC board to be a “chairman” or to have more authority than the other board members.[4]

Secondly, a chairman is not an executive position, it is merely an individual member of a board who oversees board meetings.

Besides, RTC has two boards: a board of trustees and a board of general directors. One might ask: On which board does Miscavige sit? Of which board is he a chairman?

CST Independence

CST and its boards of trustees and directors necessarily must be independent and not subservient to RTC or any of its boards or staff members for 3 reasons:

1. State law requires boards of nonprofit religious corporations to be independent;

2. IRS regulations require tax-exempt organizations to be run by independent boards, and exemption was granted Scientology organizations based on the LRH-approved corporate structure and bylaws presented the IRS, all of which are viewable on this website; and

3. LRH intended the corporate structure and bylaws adopted during his lifetime be implemented, and organized his estate plan (i.e., dying wishes) around them.

For example, if Miscavige (or any future ruler) has the authority to summarily remove – or banish to the Rehabilitation Project Force (RPF) – any of the board members of CST, then any attempt by CST trustees and directors to investigate RTC, or to question whether CST should purchase the rights of RTC, could be thwarted.

If CST is subservient to RTC, or if CST boards are controlled by RTC, then LRH’s intent has been subverted, his trust betrayed.THE INDEPENDENCE OF CST AND ITS BOARDS OF TRUSTEES AND DIRECTORS IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL IN ORDER TO PROMOTE AND FURTHER THE INTENTION OF LRH FOR THE FUTURE OF SCIENTOLOGY.

Existing Scene

As we set forth on this website, our investigation found substantial evidence that the boards of trustees and general directors of CST, as well as the boards of trustees of CSI and RTC, are “sham boards,” completely dominated by David Miscavige. (Existing Scene)

Here is a brief review:

●There are no board meetings, someone from the legal department of Office of Special Affairs International (OSA Int) from time-to-time presents documents for them to sign;
●Miscavige holds signed, undated resignations from each board member;
●Miscavige appoints and removes members at his will; (A board member only knows if he/she had been removed when OSA Int no longer brings them documents to sign); and
●Miscavige – not CSI, as LRH directed – administers justice over CST board members.

None of the members we interviewed had even read the corporate bylaws or state law and IRS requirements for tax-exempt status, let alone understood them. They had not been trained for their positions.

Trustees, who were appointed by LRH, did not even know that the positions were for life.

OSA Int, by the way, is in Department 20, Division 7, of CSI. According to the claims of former high-ranking RTC and OSA executives, Miscavige micro-manages OSA Int. So, we have in effect, if true, Miscavige controlling the CST boards of trustees and general directors. In other words, the boards are “sham” boards, mere “rubber stamps” of David Miscavige.

And thus, if true, the safeguard established in CST by LRH has been nullified. The power to investigate RTC, rein it in, or eliminate it has been usurped by David Miscavige.

A Prudent, Constructive Solution

What we propose is simply an independent investigation, a “compliance audit” by an external firm to ensure the boards are operating in accordance with state law, IRS tax-exempt regulations and LRH intent, as expressed in his estate plan and in corporate documents approved by him.

No harm can come from this, even if our facts and conclusions are wrong. If we are right, then tremendous benefit will come from it, possibly saving Scientology, now or in some distant future.

Legal Stuff

For those who want more of the legal nuts and bolts behind the basic premise of the action plan, click here.

To cut through the legal stuff: CST special directors are asleep on watch, whether by dereliction, incompetence or by design. At this point, it matters not which.

We need to wake them up.

The Plan of Action

The plan is to pressure CST special directors to do their jobs, starting with the independence of the CST boards of trustees and directors (including the independence of the board of special directors, if applicable).

This is step one in a series of steps. Hence, the title of this article Action Series 1.

We urge Scientologists to help by doing three things:

1) Read the Demand for Compliance Audit letter to CST Special Directors. The letter serves to put the special directors (who are licensed, compensated California lawyers) on notice of a situation involving their legal duties, and requests them to responsibly handle the situation by conducting an independent audit. The matters to be audited are specified in the letter. To view the letter click below:Demand for Compliance Audit Letter

2) Send a letter of support to a law firm retained by us, stating your support for our demand for a Compliance Audit. We have prepared a sample letter which can be sent anonymously. See “Instructions” below for further details.Letter of Support

3) Spread the word. Inform other Scientologists you know of the situation by disseminating flyers to them by: A) email, B) regular mail, or by C) simply stuffing the flyers on their windshields or in their mail boxes. The flyers are intended to alert other Scientologists to the situation we are addressing. See “Instructions” below for further details.Flyer

Instructions

Letter of Support. Add your name or a code name (i.e., an alias or user name) and date it, then mail it to the law firm on the letter. You do not have to use your address on the envelope if you are using a code name.

If you use a code name, use something unique made up of letters and numbers, e.g. Jdoe12RC, and make a unique mark in the signature line. The code name and signature mark you use should be consistent in each letter you send. (There are more action steps to come.)

Create evidence. Make a copy of the letter after you fill it out, and keep it on file. This step is especially important for those using a code name. We might need to match the letters to an identity at a later date if and when we need evidence of the amount of support we have – and when people feel more comfortable doing so.

Flyer. The flyer is a two-page, color pdf document. Email it to your Scientology friends, using an alias email account if you prefer anonymity. You can also mail it to them, or simply stuff it in their residential mail boxes or place it on the windshields of their cars. (Don’t trespass or break any laws in doing this.)

The flyer looks best in color and printed as a two-sided, one-page document. If you don’t have the capability to easily do this, we recommend you download the flyer to a flash drive and take it to a nearby Kinkos-type shop. Print it as a black & white, two-page flyer, if you must. Or print this article and distribute it. The idea is to spread the word and involve others.

Keep stats:# of support letters out
# of flyers to Scientologists

Stay turned for future Action Steps.

Gradients

We are operating on gradients.

This Action Program is a higher gradient than our prior gradient, which was going public with calls for an internal, independent investigation. There are higher gradients if this one fails to achieve results. We need not discuss them now. We only wish to point out that we have attorneys on retainer who specialize in this area of the law and that this Action Program is designed to either achieve the intended result or to set up the next gradient.

Thus, it is important for us to act as outlined above: notify, create evidence of notification, inform your fellow Scientologists, and keep stats. Numbers count!
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[1] HCO PL 7 Aug 79, False Data Stripping (also issued as an HCO B with the same date and title)

[2] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bequeath

[3] CSI Bylaws, Article III, section 2.

[4] RTC Bylaws

[5] For example, click here