For you non-GBS goons and non-goons:

http://www.vrtnieuws.net/cm/flandersnews.be/News/070904_Scientology

Woo.

Now Telex can perform Moscow Discow without having to withstand some guy in the audience eating placenta sandwiches!

I like how the Church's response is not to try and refute the claims of blackmail, deception, unfair trading, and practising medicine illegally - but rather to justify them as being a 'religious movement'.

How long are we going to accept absurd and downright dangerous beliefs purely through respect for 'religious faith'? Belgium is awesome for persuing rule of law above all.

That said, you could probably consider the Catholic Church a criminal organisation as well for its view on birth control and the damage caused by it.

This reminds me of the (several) times Germany banned Tom Cruise from filming.

While hilarious, I can't help but feel that this is kind of a stawman.

Tom Cruise and John Travolta don't seem like a good counter at all, especially if people already consider them a bit looney.

This is plain old religious intolerance. I would have thought Europe would have learned its lesson hundreds of years ago, but obviously not.

It is indeed intolerance, and it's about time.

Just because you dress something up as 'religion' or 'faith' that doesn't mean it should be automatically tolerated. For far too long have stupid, dangerous and unjust things been tolerated purely because they've been dressed up as 'faith'.

they should ban all the different sky wizards

I want to move to Belgium for a reason other than waffles now.

yeah. saying that birth control should not be used in far from criminal. however molesting children IS a criminal offense. one that seems to have found a home with some of the clergy in the catholic church. the churches response to all this i find almost as disgusting, the local cardinals refuse to condemn the actions taken by the offending priests, they refuse to turn over documents needed for the prosecution of thsee terrible men. even the Vatican has remained disturbingly silent about all of this.

...but their views on birth control... meh.

if something illegal is actually going on then by all mean a church SHOULD be held accountable. however there is a difference between truly being exploited and just being to much of an idiot to know when you've been had.

protecting people from their own idiocy by lowering everything to their level is never the best choice. education is always preferable.

...but then i really wouldn't mind if Scientology was banned altogether. hypocritical as that may be.

That the Catholic church is in a position of trust for many people and for them to go on to brazenly lie about the effectiveness of condoms even in AIDS-ridden areas like sub-Saharan Africa verges on criminality if you ask me.

Spreading lies and disinformation about psychiatry so that they can steal money from people that most probably genuinely need therapy certainly sounds criminal to me.

A business or a school or any other sort of organisation would never get away with this sort of absurdity - it only under the thin veil of 'faith' that it is maintained and only by the unquestionable respect we're supposed to have for anything 'faith-based' that it is tolerated.

If you think that a government should ignore illegal actions taken by a "faith" because it prescribes to people's weaknesses, and that it is ok because those people are dumb, then you grossly misunderstand the responsibilities and duties of a society-serving government.