The
Religious Technology Center, or
RTC, was
incorporated on January 1st, 1982
(1), originally with
the purpose of safeguarding the trademarks of Scientology, and
Dianetics, with its members
being Class 8, FEBCs on
NOTs(1).
The
RTC claims to enforce the
copyright on the works of
L. Ron Hubbard. But they really just
sue people.
The RTC has placed themselves
at the "source-point" of an entirely new corporate structure:
...Prior to the end of 1981, a few of us got together and
took a look at the corporate structure of the Church with the view in mind
of making it more defensible and more regular and to make an overall
improvement.
- Warrant Officer Lyman Spurlock
US Mission Holders' Conference transcript
SO ED 2104 INT, 7 Nov 1982
They then "proceeded to invalidate the structure" established
by Hubbard himself(2). The RTC is now the senior governing
entity of the all interrelated organisations of Scientology, e.g. the
Church of Scientology International, Inc., the Church of Scientology
of California, Inc.,
Author's Services, Inc., Asociación
Civil de Narconon, etc. (3)
In April 1982, Hubbard selected David Mayo to wear various technical
hats, such as Senior C/S Int, Senior C/S Flag, etc., for a period of 20-25
years. This was because Hubbard knew he was going to pass on soon, and
wanted someone he could trust to take over the technical supervision of
the Scientology applied religious technology(1). However
in August of the same year, the entire Senior C/S Int Office was removed,
and Kerry Gleeson was replaced as ED Int by Guillaume Lesèvre. They
were subjected to a Comm Ev (akin to a thamzing session in communist
China), and then on August 29, taken to Happy Valley for the "Running Program".
The "Running Program" consisted to running "around a tree in the
desert in temperatures of up to 110 degrees [40C] for 12 hours a day, 7
days a week for 3 months"(4). The RTC has gradually
seized all positions of importance in the Church, and in 1982 began to
issue vast numbers of Declare Orders (almost 2000 in the period January
1982 to January 1984(1).
The RTC now holds (virtually) all the trademarks of Scientology
(SO ED 2104 INT); these trademarks include the name L. Ron Hubbard,
the intials LRH and even Hubbard's signature. It is now no longer
possible to identify a genuine policy issue, or technical briefing/bulletin(1).
We can now only follow Hubbard's advice and "judge a person by his products".
David Miscavige, originally a trustee of RTC, now maintains absolute
control over the RTC and its staff, "controlling these other members
of the board of directors by the fact of his possessing undated, signed
resignations of each member"(3). It has been testified
under oath, on numerous occasions, that Miscavige
has violent tendancies, and a relish of inflicting physical or psychological
pain on others.
Miscavige has conceived, planned, and ordered the implementation
of the policies of the Church which are giving it such a bad PR image today:
the repeated actions against those he considered to be causing legal of
public relations conflicts against the church, against those he considered
a personal threat(1), and turning the Church
into a representation of "the Bridge to total intimidation,
fear and enslavement"(5).
In fact, a recent lawsuit (that into the death of Lisa McPherson) has been amended
to say that he 'totally controls' and 'micro-manages all of Scientology,'
and that his ecclesiastical role is part of an elaborate set-up to shield
Scientology and its leaders from liability.
It is sad that the paranoia of a select few within Scientology can thwart
the good that the majority can do.
(1) John Atack, So, what really happened?
(2) Freie Zone, e.V., Credibility of the RTC, 17 Sept. 1983
(3) Vicki J Aznaran, Affidavit of 27 January, 1992) [Vicki Aznaran was
a senior executive of the RTC from 1984 until 1987]
(4) David Mayo, Affidavit)
(5) Shiona Fox-Ness, Resignation from the Church
of Scientology, 27 January, 1984