Athens, September 6, 2023
The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece came out with a new warning on Monday about Scientology—a cult the Greek courts have characterized as “an organization with practices that are medically, socially, and morally dangerous and harmful.”
According to the Greek hierarchs, Scientologists have been active in Greece for years under various names. Most recently the group has been offering “seemingly innocuous services such as self-improvement seminars or sales seminars for businesses” as a front for their destructive beliefs.
Thus, the hierarchs write, they are responsible to sound the warning about who this group really is. The Synod’s statement reads:
The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, with a sense of responsibility, informs the Christian community that the Church of Scientology, which operated in Greece under the guise of the association named Center of Applied Philosophy of Greece (C.A.P.G.), has been characterized by two decisions of the Greek Justice (7380/1996 First Instance Court of Athens and 10.493/1997 Athens Court of Appeals) as an “organization with medically, socially, and ethically dangerous and harmful practices.”
In recent years, it has been active under other names, fronting seemingly innocuous services such as self-improvement seminars or sales seminars for businesses.
Today, following a similar past initiative known as Narconon, it attempts to intervene in the public sphere, seeking collaborations with public entities, social institutions, and even schools, under the pretext of a new program addressing the significant social issue of drugs named The Truth About Drugs.
The entity behind this initiative appears to be the Scientology Foundation titled A World Without Drugs (located at 6331 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 710, Los Angeles, CA 90028 United States), and its domestic implementation agency, originating from the same organization’s milieu, is Citizens’ Initiative for a Drug-Free Greece (Drug-Free World GR) (see websites www.notodrugs.gr, facebook.com/drugfreeworld.gr/, instagram.com/drugfreeworld.gr).
The Holy Synod of the Church of Greece stands with great respect, responsibility, and prayer, recognizing the honorable and brave efforts of our fellow humans who strive to disentangle themselves from the tragic world of various addictions.
It acknowledges and praises the invaluable help and honorable efforts of various scientific entities and communities assisting in the rehabilitation of our fellow humans.
At the same time, it informs public, social, and private entities working in the sensitive field of drug addiction rehabilitation not to inadvertently become sponsors or advertising tools of a pseudo-religious organization with socially dangerous activities.
After all, its antagonism and aversion towards the medical field of psychiatric science is well-known.
It is evident that no methodology and no guise of social contribution can distort the reality, as reflected by the judgment of the Greek Justice, which is not the only one, that Scientology is “an organization with medically, socially, and ethically dangerous and harmful practices.”
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