The event was capped by the appearance of senior Scientology executive Mr. David Miscavige, Chairman of Religious
Technology Center, custodian of the religious scriptures of Scientology.
Mr. David Miscavige’s presence to dedicate and open the new church was significant, both for him, personally,
as a first-time visitor to the country, as well as for the parishioners of the 45-year-old Johannesburg church. “It
is my honor to address you, to walk in a land where L. Ron Hubbard laid so many milestones, and on this, your
milestone day,” he stated.
L. Ron Hubbard overlooking an African township where his educational tools would
eventually mean so much. | The Chairman of the Board traced the history of Mr.
Hubbard’s experience in South Africa, where, in characteristic style, he observed life by rubbing elbows with
many Africans of all stations, befriending government ministers, entering the townships, attending tribal celebrations and
seeing life as it really was in apartheid South Africa.
Beneath apartheid’s suppression “of virtually every indigenous people, perpetrated by the same
psychiatric ideologies that laid six million to rest under the banner of eugenics during the second world war,” Mr.
Hubbard found “an unbroken tradition of spiritualism extending back to the very dawn of man,” and “an
indomitable human spirit that, although suppressed, no one could extinguish,“ said Mr. David Miscavige.
He spoke, as well, of Mr. Hubbard’s certainty that indeed Africa was “‘the
cradle of civilization,’ possessing a spirit that, if sparked, could burn forth throughout the world,” echoing
Mr. Hubbard’s prediction, “From South Africa will spring the next great civilization on this planet.”
He warmly acknowledged the work of South African Scientologists over the past 45 years, singling out the results
of their dedication, accomplishments that for decades have set the example for social betterment efforts by Scientologists
the world over: their exposure of psychiatric labor camps and their relentless efforts until basic human rights were restored
under the law to those Black citizens; their empowerment of the next generation through their educational programs; and their
success in calming full-scale riots through their wide distribution of a moral code to whole districts.
1961: Black South African women (photograph by L. Ron Hubbard) | And of the South Africa of today, Mr. David Miscavige pointed out that its problems of unemployment and
crime, the inevitable result of a half-century of social strife, are “evidence of the fact that ‘freedom from’
is no freedom at all without the means to achieve that ‘higher goal.’”
Thus, he said, it falls within the tradition of Scientologists here to rekindle the spirit of the African
continent by providing workable solutions to those areas of social decline that so grip our land — immorality, illiteracy,
drug addiction and criminality, in particular.
Mr. David Miscavige recounted that, on September 11, “when the curtain came down, exposing the fragile
state of the world,” Scientologists everywhere heard their “wake-up call.” The urgency of the mission became
even clearer and the efforts and dedication have intensified since. That intensity led ultimately to the opening in the last
two years to three new international headquarters for their social betterment organizations, as well as the expansion of churches
worldwide.
The final step of that wake-up call, he said, was the creation of this new type of church, which we celebrate
not just as a magnificent structure, but all that it represents in the building of a new Africa, and the realization of the
dreams of L. Ron Hubbard as expressed when he said, “From Southern Africa will spring the next great civilization
on this planet....”
Sunday Service in the new Church of Scientology. | Mr. David Miscavige — assisted by Councilwoman Milner, Commissioner Reddy, Ms. Mashabele,
Minister Ngubane, and the Johannesburg Church’s top executives — cut the ribbon and welcomed all to tour the main
facility, the chapel and other buildings of the new Church of Scientology of Johannesburg.
The Church is open seven days a week and visitors are always welcome. For more information, visit www.scientology.org.za or call (011) 607-2100 or email cofsjohannesburg@global.co.za
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