This article actually appeared in the LA Times a couple of weeks ago. When I read it, I wrote the following letter to a member of the Board of the Montrose Shopping Park:

Dear Ms. Haase, I was sorry to read in the Los Angeles Times that among the groups who will be caroling along Honolulu Avenue under sponsorship of the Shopping Park during this holiday season are members of the Church of Scientology. I have first-hand experience with this predatory cult and the harm that it does.

At a time when my husband was battling cancer, we were drawn into Scientology with promises that they could "help" him. Over the ensuing two years, as my husband was literally fighting for his life, this organization subjected us to sophisticated psychological manipulation and coercion and relentlessly badgered us for money - including demands that we drain our 401-K and other retirement accounts. We were high-pressured into giving Scientology many thousands of dollars before getting out. Fortunately, we escaped with minimal residual psychological effects and we were able to obtain a refund of about half the money we had lost. MANY other people have not been so lucky. The stories of Scientology's extreme harassment of its critics and maltreatment of its own members are legion.

Scientology preys on people who are vulnerable (such as cancer patients) and gets away with this behavior by hiding behind the shield of religion, screaming "religious intolerance" when criticized, labeling critics "bigots" and setting up front groups such as the "Foundation for Religious Tolerance" and "Foundation for Religious Freedom." This is particularly obnoxious considering Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's scathing remarks about religion - including assertions that all religions other than Scientology are false memories "implanted" into people's minds by space aliens and that Christ was a pedophile.

I am sure that members of your organization would not want to publicize or showcase Scientology in any way if they understood its true nature and purposes. Before selecting the groups that will participate in next year's holiday festivities under your sponsorship, I encourage you to learn more about Scientology. Two good sources of information are:

Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center, a residential treatment facility for recovering cult victims and home of a sizable library on cults and "high demand" religions. You can reach Wellspring at (740) 698-6277 or at their website, www.wellspringretreat.org. I'd recommend that you contact Liz Shaw.

Steven Hassan, founder of the Resource Center for Freedom of Mind and author of two critically acclaimed books on cult mind control. You can reach him at his website, freedomofmind.com.

Yours truly, Mary Ann Bosnos

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