Asshole. Prick. Handsome. I've been called all three.
She called me “unprofessional.” Sniffle.
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After getting forwarded by a live person to voice mail, I left messages each time. The only return telephone call I received was from a nice lady who left a voice mail message on my office line, telling me to email my questions to the address me************@ch*****************.net.
Dear Mr. Dulaney:I have received your questions. You were originally asked to send them on the 16th, yet you waited four days before doing so just a few hours before your self-imposed deadline on a holiday. I find it unprofessional and it is insufficient time for the Church to provide you a suitable response to outrageous and general allegations that are neither time-sensitive nor newsworthy.
Amy Scobee hasn't been a member of the Church of Scientology for seven years, and so your “interview” does not contain any information relevant to the Church today. I will provide you a response as rapidly as possible, but you will need to inform your editor you emailed questions at noon and asked for a response by 5 p.m., and it is insufficient.I will, however, start by providing you an answer to your last question. Yes, there is a lot to be said about Scientology. It is the story of the explosive worldwide growth of the Church of Scientology.
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Under the Church's leadership, in the past 5 years, the Church has opened 25 new Ideal Churches of Scientology in cities as diverse as London, Rome, Brussels, Moscow, Melbourne, Quebec, Hamburg and all over the United States. Four of these Churches opened here in California, with a new Church opened in our state capitol on Jan. 28, the Church of Scientology of Sacramento. We have also opened new churches in Southern California including Hollywood, Pasadena and Inglewood. There are 15 more new Churches of Scientology scheduled for opening in the coming year, including our spiritual Mecca in Florida–a 375,000-square-foot facility to minister to Scientologists from all over the world.Moreover, in Los Angeles, in 2009, the Church established a state-of-the-art, all-digital, 220,000-square-foot publishing house, dedicated to the production of our Founder's scriptures. Since then, the facility has produced and disseminated more than 97 million copies of L. Ron Hubbard's books and lectures (on compact disc).In 2010, the Church also established the largest printing-and-manufacturing plant in the U.S. dedicated to the production of humanitarian programs and materials. Consequently, the Church's Truth About Drugs and United for Human Rights programs are now reaching tens of millions each year.You should look at our website, where you will find photographs and information about the Church today. Please see:www.scientology.org/david-miscavige/creating_a_new_era_of_expansion.html
www.scientology.org/churches/churches-of-scientology.htmlI am surprised that you are not covering or interested in any of this news.
As for some of your questions, there are stale allegations Scobee has made for years. They are lies, and we have always denied them and continue to deny them because they are false.
Please provide specifics with your questions–i.e., who are the “sources”? Concerning question No. 1 regarding “spies”–are you recycling Tony Ortega's* July 2011 blog entry about Paulien Lombard, a former member of the Scientology Parishioners League, who, when she was in the Church, took some initiatives with other parishioners against religious discrimination, bigotry and hatred?As covered earlier, I ask you to behave ethically and to provide the Church ample time to respond, and I will be able to be back to you in one to two days.
Thank you.Regards,Karin PouwChurch of Scientology
*Village Voice editor (and Anaheim boy!) Tony Ortega has long covered Scientology and first wrote about Lombard's dramatic address before the Riverside County Board of Supervisors last year.
