Penn State Got It Right; Why Can’t We?
Posted on July 23, 2012 by Admin
Fellow Scientologists. Have you been on the Internet lately? Turned on the TV? Listened to talk radio? Read the newspapers? Talked candidly to a non-Scientologist?
If so, then you know that the already-bad PR on Scientology has worsened, and that the Church’s continued response is one of categorical denial, labeling its critics as liars and apostates.
Same strategy. Same result. More defections. More corroboration of the original charges:
●Human rights abuses at Int Base: beatings, degradation, even torture;
●International Exec Strata personnel imprisoned in “the Hole;”
●Families torn apart through the policy of disconnection;
●A declared mother prevented from viewing her son’s dead body or attending a memorial service; and so on.
There is a solution. Penn State got it right. Why can’t we?
Basic Problem – LRH Checks & Balances Eliminated
LRH intended one-man rule to end upon his death, to be replaced by multiple checks and balances. Power was distributed among seven (7) boards of directors and trustees in three (3) California nonprofit religious corporations, CST, RTC and CSI. See LRH Intent.
These corporate checks and balances have been eliminated.
See Existing Scene. Miscavige, from his position as Chairman of the Board (COB) RTC runs everything. Not just RTC, which LRH intended to be overseen by a board of trustees appointed for life, but CST and CSI as well. Everything.
The result is absolute power in one person. David Miscavige has no oversight or accountability.
Thus, some Scientologists have boldly taken it upon themselves to provide accountability through public channels. They do not consider themselves to be liars and apostates; they feel they are doing what is necessary to handle the situation.
Attacking them hasn’t worked. Nor will it ever. There is only one solution.
Solution: Independent Internal Investigations
What is needed are independent, internal investigations. David Miscavige needs to step aside for the good of Scientology and allow this to occur. In a prior article, we referred to this action as the Corporate America Protocol for handling situations like this.
For a live example on how to do this right, refer to the Penn State University child sex scandal. One of America’s most storied football programs was engulfed in a maelstrom of negative publicity, a grand jury and criminal charges of top officials.
The University trustees hired former FBI director Louis Freeh and his risk management firm to conduct a thorough internal investigation and make the results public. Freeh didn’t hold back. He named names, and gave details. And he recommended fixes to ensure the situation never happens again. Some of the administrators he called out, including the University’s hallowed football coach, the late Joe Paterno, are now reviled by the general public, their reputations ruined.
But the University has now separated itself from the scandal, taken responsibility for the lack of oversight, and been given a chance to live on. It will resurrect its image if it implements the Freeh recommendations, as they have stated publicly they will do. Already they have averted a lifetime ban of the football program.
The problem we Scientologists face is that there are no independent trustees and directors of Scientology. LRH established them. The IRS granted tax exempt status based on them. But Miscavige eliminated them.
For the good of Scientology – and possibly its survival, the independent powers of the boards of trustees and directors of the controlling corporations of Scientology need to be implemented as LRH intended. Once their independence and powers are established, they need to commission an outside reputable audit or law firm to thoroughly investigate the allegations, publicly issue findings and recommendations, and then implement the changes necessary to bring closure to the allegations.
For full lists of the matters that need to be investigated, see our Audit Demand Letters.
For the Greater Good, Miscavige Must Step Down Pending Internal Investigations.
That Miscavige won’t do this speaks volumes about: 1) his character; 2) his loyalty to LRH and the aims of Scientology; and 3) his guilt or innocence to the charges being leveled against him by former high-ranking Sea Org members and International Executives.
Additionally, the policy of disconnection must end once and for all. The policy is abhorrent to a society we seek to reach into. Combined with the practices of security checking and fair game against criticism of any kind (even constructive), they create a coercive environment that the general public will not tolerate. LRH discovered this in 1968 and canceled them for that reason. See RJ ‘68 and this article.
We often receive feedback from members who extol the greatness of David Miscavige. He got us tax exempt status, etc., etc.
And Joe Paterno took Penn State University from a small backwoods college and made it into a national football powerhouse. His defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, built a defense that produced so many great NFL linebackers that Penn State became known as “Linebacker U.”
Sandusky is now behind bars. Joe Paterno’s legacy as a hall of fame football coach is now overshadowed by his “integral part of the act to conceal” sexual abuse of disadvantaged boys. His statue outside Beaver Stadium has been taken down.
When the trustees of Penn State finally “grew a pair” and stood up to Paterno by firing him last winter, his loyal supporters rioted on campus – before even knowing the facts. Their loyalty for one man blinded their judgment of what was in the best interests of the institution.
We Each Have a Responsibility to Keep Scientology Working
The point is that we should not – and, for the sake of the survival of Scientology, we must not – ignore charges of abuse, corruption, and possible criminal acts by Miscavige just because of what some consider to be his prior accomplishments – nor out of fear of personal consequences.
We must act in the best interests of Scientology. Clearly, Church leadership isn’t.
Scientology’s fate, its reputation, its expansion or demise is OUR responsibility, not Miscavige’s alone. Take responsibility. Get informed. Look. Dare to speak to your friends. Do something.
“In actual fact, I rather hold the person who is inactive
because he is afraid of punishment, in contempt.”
— L. Ron Hubbard, HCO PL 15 August 1967,
Discipline SPs and Admin How Statistics Crash.