Something small and round

[Louis VI the Fat]

Scientology has just been convicted of fraud in the French courts because as it is deemed a cult, it has to prove its claims - and apparently, Xenu didn't turn up at the hearing (poor show). However, the Catholic Church, deemed a religion, doesn't have to do the same.

They'll be next.


But seriously. (Or not... )
There's fraud and there's malfunctioning. Both Scientology and Catholicism are of course complete hogwas...erm, systems of unproven beliefs. But there is the question of intent.

Compare alternative medicine. There is a difference between a fraudster selling a 15.000 Euro cure for cancer on the internet to desperate people, and a person using Tibetan aural therapy in her backroom to heal people.

There is a difference between telling people they'll gain a fortune if they only do as the Tarot card says, and telling people they'll make a fortune if only they invest in a real estate project in the Comores that yields a guaranteed 15% interest.