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Letter: Scientology Story Wrong
Fort Pierce Tribune (Fort Pierce, FL)
September 28, 2002
Recently, the Tribune printed a wire story which included information about Scientology and its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, that was completely outlandish. If the writer had done some actual research he would have found that this new religion does not belong to the category in which he placed it.
To clear up any misconceptions by Tribune readers, Scientology was given tax exempt status as a religion by the IRS in 1993. L. Ron Hubbard, who was first and foremost a humanitarian, developed many programs from his research to help mankind. Many of these are secular and include Narconon, a drug rehab program accredited by the Commission for Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. Narconon was started by William Benitez, an Arizona State Prison inmate who had been a hard-core addict from the age of 13. He found that just having the desire to stop using drugs wasn't working. He needed information that would really help him do it and found it in Mr. Hubbard's books which he read while in prison. After being released from prison in 1970, he helped open the first Narconon center in California. Narconon has blossomed into 50 centers located in 21 countries around the world where people use Mr. Hubbard's techniques to rid themselves of the harmful effects of drugs and go on to lead happier, drug-free lives.
For Tribune readers interested in finding more of the truth go to http://www.scientology.org on the Internet.
Kathy Dillon
Church of Scientology of Florida
Coral Gables