The book that the documentary is based on, originally by author and investigative journalist Lawrence Wright, suffered the same problems when it tried to get published in the UK in 2013. Its publisher Transworld gave in to threats of libel repercussions and cancelled the release because of legal pressures.

The tenants of Scientology’s ‘Fair Game’ policy is used by the church to silence its opponents or anyone it deems a threat to the organisation. A description of Fair Game, as written by L. Ron Hubbard, stated: “SP Order. Fair game. May be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist without any discipline of the Scientologist. May be tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed”. In 68' the name is deemed to be bad PR so was let go, but according to some ex-scientologists, the policy is alive and well, just without the title.

In the age of the blog and online journalism — and internet activism — the church still reacts “sharply to any perceived libel”, as noted by The Economist after the emergence of the Anonymous campaign against the church — but more on that later.

Like any church or large organisation, people leave. Many will become disenfranchised or uninterested, or be forced out because of a committed crime or the breakdown of personal relationships. However the way the Church of Scientology deals with ‘apostates’, for lack of a better word, is worth a mention.

On the ‘ex-scientologykids’ website, which is run by the niece of the current chairman of the church David Miscavige among others, it is stated that “it is a high crime in Scientology to “publicly leave” the organization. Leaving quietly / leaving at all is bad enough, but to tell any Scientologist you are leaving is a serious offence. Because they can’t tell anyone they are leaving, many times, people who leave just kinda disappear. Their not-so-close friends and acquaintances don’t know what happened to them.”

The Ireland Mission

“Scientology is not a religion, it’s a con” says journalist John Sweeny. “In Scientology the main message that our brains are infected by these dead aliens is something that you learn step by step and therefore they’re hiding their core belief and making it a pay-as-you go religion. That is a confidence trick” he told the Irish Examiner this year.

Based above a hair salon at 64 Middle Abbey Street, the ‘Church of Scientology Dublin Mission’ (Ltd) is allegedly operated by Gerard Collins — who has the official title of ‘Mission Holder’. In the hierarchy of the Church of Scientology, a ‘mission’ is akin to a franchise and is largely used for the process of auditing newcomers and handing out leaflets and literature. This is in contrast to the bigger ORGs which handle more intense training and are structured in a hierarchy much like a corporation.

The Payoff of Mary Johnston

In 2003, ex-Scientologist Ms Mary Johnston sought damages against church members John Keane, Tom Cunningham and Gerard Ryan for “alleged conspiracy, misrepresentation and breach of constitutional right”. A number of articles, largely published by the Irish Times, covers the long and detailed court case which stems from the process of dianetics and auditing as far back as 1992. It is a case that detailed intimidation and an abuse of mental health. John Keane, was described by the Irish Times as the ‘Mission Holder’ during this period.

The proceedings came to an abrupt end in March of 2003 when the case was suddenly settled. Neither Ms Johnston nor the church spokesperson made any comment after the settlement, leading to the assumption that a non-disclosure agreement had been signed. After an eight year ordeal, the case was over.

The Times reported:

“A chartered psychologist, Dr Peter Naish, was about to resume his evidence, which had criticised the nature of auditing sessions which Ms Johnston underwent with one of the defendants, Mr Tom Cunningham, when Mr Michael Cush SC, for Ms Johnston, asked Mr Justice Peart for time. Talks then got under way between the sides and at 1.20 p.m., Mr Cush told the judge that he and Mr Michael Collins SC, for the church, “are delighted to tell you the case appears to be settled”.

In 2006, the Independent reported that the Johnston proceedings had taken its toll on the Church of Scientology in Ireland. It was allegedly up to €1m in debt and was being propped up by its American branches via interest free loans.

Gerard Ryan, who had been involved in the Johnston case, said at the time that “there is no pressure on us to pay the money back. It has been donated by various Scientologists across the world. In the States, we are very large and some of the more affluent people have been able to help us out.”

In a more recent dispute, the topic of defamation in a different case arose between existing and former members of the church — with Zabrina Collins and Michael O’Donnell retaining restraining injunctions against former scientologists Peter Griffiths and John McGhee for alleged assault and intimidation.

What this points to is a church that seems to be facing difficult internal struggles between members and ex-members. Struggles aside, you wouldn’t be aware of any problems if you were only listening to the words of Scientology leader David Miscavige, who said last year that the Irish Mission “is behind an 85% drop in drug-related crime”. There was no evidence to back up this claim.

What this points to is a church that seems to be facing difficult internal struggles between members and ex-members.

The Belfast Mission

As much as a failed experiment in setting up a Mission as anything else, the Belfast office is still listed on the main Scientology website despite having been closed and empty for years. Situated at 121 Great Victoria Street it is listed online as holding a number of different practices — a Scientology Mission, a ‘Dianetics Foundation’ and a Health Food Retailer (the ‘alternative therapy’ kind). The website (previously www.scientology-belfast.org) has expired and does not show up on the Wayback website. The manager listed on the contact info (also long defunct) is John Keane.

Dianetics is a set of practices written by L. Ron Hubbard which outlines the “metaphysical relationship between the mind and body”. It has gained no acceptance from modern science.

One thread on the Why We Protest website forum — which shares links with Anonymous — tells of two names (other than Keane) related to the Belfast branch — Michael O’ Donnell and Willie Duffy. O’ Donnell, the thread claims, moved to the Dublin branch and indeed he is involved in the previously mentioned ‘ Griffiths/McGhee’ dispute but there is little other hard evidence to place him at Belfast. I could find no contact details listed online.

[UPDATE: I have since been contacted by a source who confirmed that Michael O’Donnell worked in the Belfast Mission. His statement will form the basis of a follow-up post]

Duffy, on the other hand, is mentioned a number of times online as being involved in the Belfast Mission. One story archived online, originally published by ‘The People’ in 2006, states that “Galway man Willy Duffy has been a Scientologist for 31 years and believes his religion has the answer to Northern Ireland’s problems”. The article continues, saying “he is so convinced in its power that he spent 20 years establishing a church in Japan. And now he has turned his attention to Belfast where he is based in a small office on Great Victoria Street”.

So what happened to the Belfast start-up? According to the main church website, it’s still active, even though the building has been empty since at least 2010. The ‘Contact Us’ page brings you to a generic form and there is no contact staff listed — likely because they don’t exist.

One user on Yelp commented under the address, saying “the small office on Great Victoria Street is generally a quiet, empty little place and I can see it staying that way”.

The Health Food Retailer

It’s perhaps strange that the Belfast Dianetics Foundation would be listed (on the 192.com business directory) as a ‘Health Food Retailer’. There exists little to no evidence that the address was ever used for this purpose. However I discovered that there is precident for this existing within the teachings of Scientology. It comes down to three things — drugs, questionable science, and money.

One ‘Scientology Course’ on how to help someone get off drugs, explains a treatment consisting solely of vitamins — called a ‘drug bomb’. The website states that “the potential benefits of the drug bomb far outweigh any possible drawbacks and so it has much value. The difficulties and agonies of withdrawal are the primary failure point in trying to salvage a being from the insanity of drugs.”

‘Narconon’ is a Scientology program, again based on the writings of L. Ron Hubbard, designed for drug rehabilitation. It has faced harsh criticism from those outside the church for unscientific practice, a high level of patient death (As reported by NBC in 2012) and legal issues.

While there is nothing to suggest the Belfast branch ever actually stocked these products, another business is a living example of the ties between this industry and Scientology — ‘G and G Vitamins’, a popular business co-founded by David Gaiman, who was once head of the UK branch of the church. The business G and G Food Supplies, listed with Sheila Gaiman as a director, was one of the 195 patrons (donors) to Scientology in the United Kingdom in the mid -00's.

One so-called ‘info-dump’ on the Why We Protest website, set up specifically for journalists to cover the subject, cites articles from the likes of ‘Private Eye’ magazine and focuses on ‘Drug Free UK’ — a Scientology backed initiative which has enabled the church to influence both schools and the police force. This thread — which you can find in full here — cites a number of reputable sources linking to stories about ‘Narconon’ and its work into drug treatment. Headlines include ‘Scientology’s Narconon lies about success rates’ and ‘People being recruited into scientology while on Narconon drug programmes’.

Anonymous

The so-called ‘Internet Hate Machine’, Anonymous, aren’t big fans of the Church of Scientology. Project Chanology in 2008 was specifically set up to target the organisation and consisted of denial of service attacks against websites, mass prank phone calls, ‘propaganda videos’ and real life protests. The hackivist group initially took issue with the church attempting to suppress the video of Tom Cruise — a famous Scientologist and financial backer of the organisation — making some well publicised comments about the religion regarding drug recovery, however the campaign quickly spread to focus more on freedom of speech.