Scientology in Le Court

As soon as next year, the Church of Scientology could find itself in a French court facing charges of organized fraud. The case stems from the experiences of one plaintiff, who said that after receiving a free personality test from the church, she ended up in a financial racket, ultimately forking over more than 20,000 euros for courses, books, medications, and useless equipment. At first I wasn't sure this was a good idea, since people should be free to believe whatever they want and shouldn't necessarily be able to sue someone for their own gullibility. But as more and more former Scientologists tell their stories to the public, it's becoming very clear that the church isn't a religion at all and is instead a massive moneymaking scheme. To their credit, the French and German governments have never granted Scientology official religious status and have kept the church under close watch. If this lawsuit ends up seeing Scientology convicted, the church could be dissolved in France and all its financial operations there could be banned. But of course, this could all be evidence of Prince Xenu's growing power ahead of his upcoming interplanetary invasion. Hey, now that I think about it, that invasion could make for a great movie someday. Maybe starring John Travolta and that hot up-and-comer Barry Pepper*. Wait, where are you going? More details here.

*Apologies to Mr. Pepper, who was actually very good in The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.