The Paul Haggis Lie Smoking-gun evidence has long exposed Haggis' lies, from his sham "resignation" from the Church of Scientology to his latest conspiracy theory. But I read the article and most of the comments (my apolgies to the last 1/4 of responders--it just went on for so long, and understandably so! First, spokescreature Tommy Davis publicly flamed out on his prime time interview. *EDGE Awards (2) Entertainment Industries Council What a tragedy to see current and/or former members of CoS wasting decades of their lives (ironic to see how much they detest the LDS church, given they both exist because of the teachings of a modern-day man). Paul Haggis established himself over twenty years with an extensive career in television, before his big break into features arrived when he became the first screenwriter to garner two Best Film Academy Awards back-to-back for his scripts: "Million Dollar Baby" (2004) directed by Clint Eastwood, and "Crash" (2005) which Paul directed himself. "The church of scientology in San Diego was put on a Web site supporting Proposition 8 falsely and I had our name taken off of it," Davis said. So: this ought to be interesting to watch play out, no? Lisa Marie Presley | How much money did Scientology take from her? assaulted *Humanitas Prize (2) Humanitas Check out the website included. By Christie D'Zurilla Staff Writer. While I admire Mr. Haggis' stance against hypocrisy in the Scientology Church, I must "out" some blatant hypocrisy of his own. Paul Haggis testified his resignation letter from Scientology helped Leah Remini leave the church. Funny how every 'disgruntled employee' is saying exactly the same thing, and the whole story checks out. And it did. It's the whole bad apple in the bunch theory - not all priests or churches "extort" via confessional, but some do. The Catholic church is consistent, and failures in society do not change truth. Doing good works, from a Christian perspective, is to be done anonymously, according to the Bible - with no fan fare, no pats on the back.. nothing. ", "While I have not been an active member for many years, I found much of what I learned to be very helpful, and I still apply it in my daily life. The Scene: Pete (Haggis) and Lightnin (Rathbun) in conversation with co-conspirators. It's about not living in a glass house. We're a minority, we don't discriminate. Screenwriter . I can think of no other word. Paul Haggis, the Canadian-born writer, director, and producer best known for the Oscar-winning Best Picture Crash, was arrested on Sunday in the southern Italian city of Ostuni.The New York Times . *Image Award NAACP I would respect his stance more if he were consistent. He also said he hoped it would "open the eyes" of those still with the church and help them "get out.". Also, indulgences are a grey area and very, very often misinterpreted. Listing the date is important because your . I would dearly love to be honest with everyone concerned, but I can't. "for bringing honor and dignity to writers everywhere" After 35 years as a Scientologist . In his letter, Haggis said he is deeply disappointed with the church to which he has belonged for decades. It is still hard for me to believe. "During my twenties and early thirties, I studied and received a great deal of counseling. A jury found filmmaker Paul Haggis liable in a sexual assault case that was brought forward by a former publicist who alleged he raped her after a movie premiere in 2013. Oscar-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis testified on Wednesday in a civil rape lawsuit that his letter of resignation from the Church of Scientology helped motivate fellow celebrity and member. pregnant Correction: November 2, 2022 A previous version of this story inaccurately referred to the reason Paul Haggis left the Church of Scientology. Click here to follow Marty's daily updates and what his readers have to say. *Peace & Justice Award Office of the Americas, presented by Daniel Ellsberg I will always take their calls, as I always took yours. Not now. All religions lead to spiritual enlightenment. ", "How dare you use private information in order to label someone an adulteress? You took Amy Scobees most intimate admissions about her sexual life and passed them onto the press and then smeared them all over the pages your newsletter! But the accused rapist continues to shop his scripted story to media who will buy it. The root problem is the concept of religion itself. Despite all the church's words about promoting freedom and human rights, its name is now in the public record alongside those who promote bigotry and intolerance, homophobia and fear. I've read the whole thread up to this point, and just wanna say, I'm a huge fan of you! I do hope Tommy Davis sorts himself out. Rathbun recounts in detail how Haggis manipulated and lied to the press concerning his letter of resignation, which was leaked in October 2009. No action was forthcoming. tommy Haggis, famous for films that include "Crash," "Million Dollar Baby" and "Letters From Iwo Jima," cited ideological and personal reasons for breaking with Scientology. * Founding Board Member, Earth Communication Office Thats the kind of integrity I thought we had, but obviously the standard in this church is far lower the public relations representative can reveal secrets to the press if the management feels justified. You could publicly state that it doesn't exist? Thank you Paul for standing up for what you believe in. "Say what you will about them now," writes Haggis, "[but] these were staunch defenders of the church, including Mike Rinder, the church's official spokesman for 20 years!" Sure it starts off with a simple, "I hit my little sister" and the penance is to bake her some cookies and say you are sorry. The great majority of Scientologists I know are good people who are genuinely interested in improving conditions on this planet and helping others. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. Leah Remini is pictured inset on October 07, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. Quite the contrary, it is our level of respect for the authors life work and integrity that makes us confident many people will benefit from the authors example, others will feel vindicated, and great strides will be made in ending the abuses the letter details. And I felt sick. In 2009, Mr. Haggis left the Church of Scientology over its support of Proposition 8, the ban on same-sex marriage passed by California voters and later overturned. Have you read it? I'm not surprised that Harkus would automatically defend the Church. In the letter, Haggis spends a lot of time speaking on Proposition 8 and intolerance, as it was at the forefront of discussion in California at the time. Better type something else nasty before they come and put you back in the straight jacket. It was a year ago. This was the only way an unemployed high school grad like himself could pay for the multi-thousand dollar "auditing courses," which they convinced him would make everything clear. Thanks again, love your movies! Another name Hollywood name, who was with Scientology for 35 years, is Paul Haggis, a screenwriter, director, and producer. "That's how all this started. Although it caused her terrible personal pain, my wife broke off all contact with them. Anyone who was around knows that the beatings occurred. You might recall that my wife was ordered to disconnect from her parents because of something absolutely trivial they supposedly did twenty-five years ago when they resigned from the church. Robin, there are many of us who will not "come out" as ex-members of $cn because of our existing ties to family and friends who are still in the church. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. [Rathbun] broke his silence on the matter in 2017 to reveal that he and Haggis had orchestrated Haggis departure story and there is no truth whatsoever to the Haggis account. * Member and fundraiser, Environment California and CalPirg Independence, unfettered knowledge, freedom of thought etc. Prob with religion are the people, to much power given to few of them. His fear was genuine and only confirmed what we were already learning about the church back then. * Member and active supporter, Amnesty International for whatever the reason. how did he fall for this b.s. Awards for outspoken support of Civil and Human Rights: * Valentine Davies Award Writers Guild of America The great majority of Scientologists I know are good people who are genuinely interested in improving conditions on this planet and helping others. A priest would go to jail before revealing secrets from the confessional, no matter what the cost to himself or his church. Hard to really know, but perhaps the Christian social message might have been a appealing alternative to the morals of the day (that's still true for some of us). So I'm the result of both hate crimes against gay people and disconnection policy. I refuse to consent.". Lives damaged. The Church of $cientology continually shows us through the writings and testimony of ex-members that at it's heart and core of leadership it cares nothing for the eternity of the human spirit or freeing humanity it's all about control, programming, and destroying those who would dare question it. I can see this in any religion, especially when the followers are so devout and the religion itself is shrouded in such secrecy as Scientology, Church of Mormon, etc. One personal having the courage to do what you did can cause an entire shaky house of cards to changeor fall. Perhaps Mr. Haggis would do well to remember that those of us on the "Christian right" have been fighting for his and many other $cientologists' rights in outing the cult, and that many of us are proud gay rights supporters. Lioness, I do not have the time or energy to go into detail as to why you are wrong here, however, you address a common, simplistic complaint, so I feel the need to comment however brief. Sign up for notifications from Insider! These accusations were made by top international executives who had devoted most of their lives to the church. Oscar-winning filmmaker Paul Haggis is fighting a rape lawsuit in New York City. "Although it caused her terrible personal pain, my wife broke off all contact with them" for a year and a half, Haggis wrote. Paul Haggis testified his resignation letter from Scientology helped Leah Remini leave the church. Paul Haggis is a screenwriter who pretended to be a Scientologist so that he could gain publicity for "leaving" the religion in 2009. I will argue that there is a distinct difference between "Christian belief system" and "religion". There's a huge difference between homo-intolerant and homophobia. No matter what I say as a spiritual leader, it is always tested against what I actually do or if it truly of benefit. His letter . I am/was Catholic and I hate to burst everyone's bubble, but they did extort. has to & must be ended as quickly has possible. I carefully read all of your rebuttals, I watched every video where you presented the churchs position, I listened to all your arguments ever word. And you could laugh at the question as if it was a joke? Two Weapon Fighting Attack Of Opportunity Penalty. Haggis forwarded his resignation to more than twenty Scientologist friends, including Anne Archer, John Travolta, and Sky Dayton, the founder of EarthLink. Alas, with religions out there, those seekers may not easily find the path to your person wisdom. And though it may seem small by comparison, I was truly disturbed to see you provide private details from confessionals to the press in an attempt to embarrass and discredit the executives who spoke out. When actress Leah Remini publicly defected from the Church in 2013, Haggis spoke on her departure in a letter, calling her exit "brave." June 22, 2022 2:32 PM PT. I have always considered the current operation a mind control program, with militaristic overtones. I have to believe that if they knew what I now know, they too would be horrified. Haggis was deathly afraid Rathbun might reveal the truth to Wright and expose the crusading image as a farce, as Rathbun notes in recalling their conversation: He [Haggis] said Look, for the sake of my image with my daughters, can you please avoid telling Larry Wright that you were the personthat you prompted me?. The church's refusal to denounce the actions of these bigots, hypocrites and homophobes is cowardly. And that is when I read the recent articles in the St. Petersburg Times. This is a lovely retired couple, never said a negative word about Scientology to me or anyone else I know hardly raving maniacs or enemies of the church. He told me he was on the run from the Church and that he was afraid for his life. One night in NY city in the sixties a group of us was approached by a Scientology recruiter. They left me dumbstruck and horrified. Scientology is now in a state of Civil War. A lot of us Mission Owners are looking for a way to be 100% independent of the Int Base, and corporate scientology. You also destroy the most fertile source of ethics". The fact that the Mormon Church drew all the fire, that no one noticed, doesn't matter. After 35 years in Scientology, after seeing the terrible damage caused to his family by disconnects", after the "morally reprehensible" orders, after lie after lie after lie, he finally had enough of them when he didn't like their stance ongay marriage? We took the little test they gave (probably still give) and were told we needed auditing. Yes!!! I've been "gone" for 13 years and still get, on average, 2 pieces of literature a day. To help you draft your resignation letter, here's a checklist of what to include: Your name and address - Follow proper business letter formatting and place your name and address in a centered list at the top of the page. Haggis was on Sunday detained in Italy on sexual assault . Kozlowski added that it was "intended as a private correspondence between [Haggis] and Tom Davis" and that he has no idea how it was leaked. We love them. With his resignation from Scientology, Haggis wrote an open letter to Tommy Davis, the former head of the Church of Scientology's Celebrity Centre International. Haggis found this, apparently, to be the first in a series of straws that broke a 35 year-old camel's back. You want to rebut her accusations, do it, and do it in the strongest terms possible but that kind of character assassination is unconscionable. Some are to just whip through earth time and get to the end. As Haggis stated: Marty is likely telling a truth. Perhaps if you had done a little more research on me, the church's senior management wouldn't have dismissed those concerns quite so cavalierly. Those poor, poor people who are still stuck in COS. "IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE AS WE DO, YOU ARE ENEMIES! Internationally, he is renowned for a number of film achievements. I am only ashamed that I waited this many months to act. I agree. *Ethel Levitt Award for Humanitarian Service Levitt & Quinn "The church's refusal to denounce the action of these bigots, hypocrites and homophobes is cowardly," Haggis wrote. ..H. Praise for Paul Haggis. But what happens when you are an adult - and someone of power like a city council member, senator or other influential entity? Yet three months before that Aftermath episode, Paul Haggis had already eviscerated his own credibility by confirming he lied, and that his anti-Scientology exit tale is built on a fraud. The deception can continue only so long. I told you I could not, in good conscience, be a member of an organization where gay-bashing was tolerated. It sounds like a place that takes advantage of its members and doesn't allow for any disagreement. Discover what people really say about all things Scientology. November 10, 2022, 1:55 PM. I find it amazing how a person will talk about 'tolerance' and then talk down other groups from 'other religions'. Haggis' final bomb, which is going to ring true to many, many Scientologists on every level, is about that same St. Petersburg Times report, in which the Church dredged up old documents and audits on their members to expose salacious, damning details about their personal lives to paint their defection as a cover for their personal indiscretions. Loren, he didn't assert that ALL Christians are bigoted, hateful homophobes, just the Christian right. You had allowed our name to be allied with the worst elements of the Christian Right. Haggis' publicist said the director does not plan to comment further on the matter. Scientology has claimed that their high-profile defectors hold personal grudges against them for demotions and other bureaucratic failings. 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