Your gratuitous comment denigrating the management of the Church of Scientology in the 3/14 Paper Trail was akin to calling the leadership of the NAACP “a bunch of niggers.” In other words, it’s something that normally intelligent and responsible people don’t do because it’s inaccurate, degrading, and exposes one as being ignorant and prejudiced.

Since 1984, the Church of Scientology has experienced a golden age of expansion and now has churches, missions, or groups in over 100 countries around the world and over 8 million members worldwide—expansion that is a testament to the competence and dedication of the men and women at the helm.

That same management has made a concerted effort to increase the church’s community-betterment programs to attack crippling social ills such as crime, drug abuse, and illiteracy. You can see that effort firsthand, right here in Washington, D.C.—and in other cities throughout the world—where Scientologists volunteer their time each week to turn hopelessness into hope. Ask the hundreds of D.C. schoolchildren who now know how to read. Ask the inmates at Lorton prison who have rediscovered their self-respect. Above all, ask someone knowledgeable before you open your mouth and reveal how much you don’t know.

Office of Public Affairs

Founding Church of Scientology

Dupont Circle