An Open Letter to the Church of Scientology

I read your entire letter Derek. Thank you for speaking out, and I hope it was therapeutic for you.

I assure you that you are one of many young homosexuals who have faced interrogations and were made to feel guilty for no real reason. I know somebody else who grew up in Scientology's Sea Org thinking it was wrong to be gay. As if the world of the Sea Org isn't hostile enough, that makes it even worse.

I'm glad to see that your therapy is going well. Keep us posted.

Thanks for joining this forum and sharing Derek. I too got into Scientology when I was only a kid (5 or 6) and my Dad joined. My Mom joined shortly after when they convinced her they were non-denomenational and she could still be a Catholic. That sounds so funny when you write it down and read it back.

I cannot imagine what you've gone through. They manage to figure out how to make a kid feel bad for everything they do - no matter how normal it is. This idea that a kid is an adult without ever giving them any adult "training" flies in the face of all they profess. But then again, most things they do fly in the face of what they profess.

It is that very strange twistedness that must percolate in someone's mind and then we eventually shove it down, drown out the voice of common sense, so that we can fit in and belong. The idea of losing your family is just horrible.

I had to disconnect from mine when they left SCN. I was apart from them for only a year or so when a very loving partner encouraged me to reconnect. It was the best thing I ever did. Then, 8 years later, my sister and her daughter returned as well. Her journey was much harder than mine.

I thank you Derek for your courage to be who you are and for speaking out. I hope it gives courage to everyone who finds a common story with yours.