Celebrity Centres

Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre International
Scientology Celebrity Centre on Franklin Avenue in Hollywood, California
Formation 1969
Type Religious
Headquarters Hollywood, California, United States
Website scientology.cc

Church of Scientology Celebrity Centres are Scientology churches that are open to the general public but are intended mostly for "artists, politicians, leaders of industry, sports figures and anyone with the power and vision to create a better world."[1]

The Celebrity Centre International was established in Los Angeles, California, in 1969 by Yvonne Gillham, a Sea Org member who worked with L. Ron Hubbard. Since then, other centres have been established in Düsseldorf, Florence, Las Vegas, London, Munich, Nashville, New York City, Paris, Vienna, and a number of other cities across the world.[2]

Critics of Scientology point to Hubbard's launch of "Project Celebrity" in 1955 to recruit celebrities into the church, and that the centres were established as an extension of this initial purpose.[3][4] The church denies the existence of a policy to recruit high-ranking celebrities.[5][6]

Violent incident

On November 23, 2008, Mario Majorski arrived at the Los Angeles Celebrity Centre wielding dual samurai swords and threatening to injure people. Majorski was shot by Celebrity Centre security guards, and was later pronounced dead at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. Police regard the guards' actions as justifiable. Majorski was a Scientologist in the early 1990s; however, he left the group fifteen years prior to the incident, according to church spokesperson Tommy Davis.[7][8] When he was still a member of the church, Majorski had filed lawsuits, later dismissed, against Louis West, a psychiatrist who was critical of Scientology.[9]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre International". Church of Scientology Celebrity International. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  2. ↑ Wright, Lawrence (February 14, 2011). "The Apostate". The New Yorker. Condé Nast Digital. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
  3. ↑ William Shaw, What do Tom Cruise and John Travolta know about Scientology that we don't?, The Daily Telegraph, February 15, 2008.
  4. ↑ Claire Hoffman and Kim Christensen (Los Angeles Times) Tom Cruise and Scientology, Newsday, December 18, 2005.
  5. ↑ Official transcript for Countdown show (May 12, 2006)
  6. ↑ YouTube video with part of the show related to Scientology
  7. ↑ Strange, Hannah (2008-11-24). "Scientology guards kill swordwielding man in LA". The Times. London. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
  8. ↑ Ryan, Harriet (2008-12-04). "Killer of sword-wielding man won't face charges". The Los Angeles Times.
  9. ↑ Ryan, Harriet; Wagner, James (25 November 2008). "Man shot at Scientology site had made threats". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 February 2015.

References

  • Sappell, Joel; Welkos, Robert W. (1990-06-25). "The Courting of Celebrities". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
  • Frantz, Douglas (1998-02-13). "Scientology's Star Roster Enhances Image". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
  • Di Matteo, Enzo (2000-01-13). "Ex-Scientology celebs recall swingin' 70s". Now Magazine. Archived from the original on 2006-06-16. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
  • Huus, Kari (2005-07-05). "Scientology courts the stars". MSNBC. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
  • Goodyear, Dana (2008-01-14). "Château Scientology". Letter from California. The New Yorker. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
  • "Scientology Celebrity Centre International". Church of Scientology International.
  • "Ecclesiastical Structure: "Celebrity Centre Churches"". A presentation of the Celebrity Centres churches. Church of Scientology. Archived from the original on 2005-11-10.
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