Scientology accused of violent crime

Today independent senator Nick Xenophon castigated Scientology as being a criminal organisation and called for an inquiry into their tax exempt status.
He referred to allegations by former members - some of them members for decades - of unlawful imprisonment, coerced abortions, physical violence, and blackmail.

He stated "It is alleged that information about suspicious deaths and child abuse has been destroyed and one follower has admitted that he was coerced by the organisation into perjuring himself into deaths of his two daughters.....These victims of Scientology claim it is an abusive manipulative and violent organisation."
The prime minister was careful with his words but described the allegations as "grave".
He said ‘‘Many people in Australia have real concerns about Scientology....I share some of those concerns. Let us proceed carefully and look carefully at the material he (Xenophon) has provided before we make a decision on further parliamentary action.’’

This morning I was listening to a radio interview between ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) host Jon Faine and a leader-spokesperson for the Australian branch of the church of Scientology. I like Faine as a savage questioner, most of the time.

Faine took the church spokesman to pieces when the latter refused to answer a simple yes-no question as to whether the church would respond to questions honestly if under oath in a court of law.
Under oath....
"I don't care to answer that" is not an okay response. That's contempt of court, and if you lie it's perjury.

The clear implication was that when it came down to a choice between compliance to the law of the land and protecting the interests of the church... the law of the land would be disregarded. I couldn't believe how stupid the spokesman was for tacitly admitting that.

Personally I try not to indulge in casual Scientology-bashing.
True, it looks fun for all their stable of goofy celebrities and, apparently, an inheritance of really bad science fiction as their theology, but each to their own...
It's when they prey on the mentally vulnerable that I get hostile.

There are other cults, at a local level, that I would go after ahead of Scientology. The cult called The Exclusive Brethren probably tops my list because of their extreme separatism and alleged political influence.
But if any of these allegations that Xenophon has aired are true... then they need to answer the charges.

Looking forward to seeing what develops from this.