In honor of the anniversary of 911, please permit me to pay tribute to all of the Volunteer Ministers and everyone else who gave of themselves in the weeks, months and years after 911. We will never forget.

When the Religion Newswriters Association (RNA) invited Scientology spokesperson Bob Adams to speak on the panel at their annual conference in Salt Lake City, they made no claim to understanding the Scientology religion — what Scientologists believe or why. Adams, Vice President of the Church of Scientology International, made it really simple when he let them know that the keynote of the Scientology religion is "help."

Speaking at the annual conference of the RNA in Salt Lake City, Bob brought the religion into focus for the attendees when he said:

"The Scientology religion was born a half century ago into a world on the brink of atomic war.

"Man had become obsessed with science to the point he had lost his spirituality and his social sciences had not kept pace with his material gains."

Adams reminded those in attendance that at this point, mankind was faced, for the first time, with the possibility of total annihilation through atomic war. He went on to say:

"Into that world came first Dianetics in 1950, then Scientology in 1954.

"We use the writings of L. Ron Hubbard in the tradition of what he described as the foremost right of any Church - or for that matter the foremost human right and I quote:

"The biggest right there is, is not the right to vote, is not the right to freedom of speech, or press, or religion or anything else.

"The biggest right there is in human rights is the right to help!"

Bob described the various social benefit programs the church sponsors, explaining that the reason they are so effective is that they use the discoveries of Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard.

Then he took up the issue of the church's expansion, saying: "If you've heard the phrase 'fastest growing religious movement on earth,' it's because in just over 50 years, there now stand more than six thousand groups, missions and churches of Scientology across 159 nations, with a current membership of 10 million people."

And bringing this all into perspective, pointing out that all the programs, whether aimed at providing one-on-one help for the individual or helping to eradicate the most serious social ills that plague our society at this time, all are aligned to accomplishing the Aims of Scientology: "A civilization without insanity, without criminals, and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights and where man is free to rise to greater heights.

Human Rights Panel

The Editor of Freedom Magazine moderated a panel this weekend held by the Islamic Society of North America in Chicago.

The session discussed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and ways by which human rights can become better known and respected. Featured were the 30 PSAs produced by Youth for Human Rights and the Church of Scientology International to make the UDHR well known and understood.

Perhaps the most essential right is that of communication. Without the freedom to communicate, other rights deteriorate.

It is in this spirit that Freedom has consistently spoken out on issues and often presented views different from the majority of the press.

Naturally, freedom of expression—and its extension, freedom of the press—underlie all topics reported by Freedom. The right to communicate however is also exercised by providing a forum for those who have been denied a means to speak out on important issues. Freedom has also provided a forum to a broad spectrum of authors whose common denominator has been their dedication to the preservation of freedom of speech.

It is in that spirit that Freedom Magazine has been publishing for nearly four decades.

For a special look at what Scientologists are doing in Florida, read the most recent Clearwater edition of Freedom magazine.