Religious Technology Center - Organizational Structure and Management

Organizational Structure and Management

RTC stands hierarchically at the top of the Church of Scientology network. It has regulatory, corporate and ecclesiastical power over the policy and activities of all other Scientology management units, corporations, churches, missions and other organizations - with being the only exception the Church of Spiritual Technology. The position of RTC is notably visible in a drawing titled "The Command Channels of Scientology", which the Church of Scientology International (CSI) and RTC provided to the IRS in their application for tax-exempt status. It should be noted that the Church of Spiritual Technology has not been included in this application.

In its application for tax exemption, RTC described the internal structure of the organization as follows:

" RTC's daily activities are carried out by a staff of 54 highly-trained individuals who function in their positions within the overall ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Scientology religion. Through receipt of reports and direct inspections, RTC ensures that those utilizing the marks are ministering orthodox Scientology religious services. "

" The senior ecclesiastical position in RTC is held by David Miscavige, who continues to serve as Chairman of the Board RTC and also as Inspector General. There are also several Deputy Inspector Generals who assist in the performance of RTC's religious functions. There is a Deputy Inspector General who functions as Chairman of the Board RTC's second in command and sees to the day to day functioning of the organization. There is a Deputy Inspector General who oversees internal matters in RTC and another who is in charge of RTC's religious programs."

"The religious mission of RTC, protecting the orthodoxy of the technologies of Dianetics and Scientology, is carried out by two ecclesiastical divisions within RTC as described below. There is now one Inspectorate division which consists of four departments. The Department of Data receives reports and collects information from other organizations and Scientologists and collates, analyzes and distributes the information to all other departments that require it.

"The Department of Trademark Registration, Maintenance and Enforcement gets the religious marks of Dianetics and Scientology legally registered and sees to it that all users of the marks are properly licensed. It also investigates and, where necessary, prosecutes legal infringements of the marks."

"The Department of Technical Policing inspects application of the Scientology Scriptures pertaining to the ministry of religious services by licensees and corrects misapplication where it is found."

"The Department of Organization Policing inspects the application of Scientology Scriptures as it pertains to governance of the ecclesiastical hierarchy and corrects misapplication where it is found."

"Authorization, Verification and Correction International ('AVC INT') is a division within RTC which is responsible for authorizing and verifying that the ecclesiastical programs, evaluations, strategies, promotional materials and issues as authored by CSI are in accordance with Scripture. "

As previously mentioned, RTC is currently led by the "Chairman of the Board (of Directors)" David Miscavige, who is holding this position since 1987. Miscavige has been in leading positions within the Scientology management since the early 1980s. Prior to being in his current position, Miscavige had been a member of the Commodore's Messenger Organization and had been instrumental in the internal purge of the Guardian's Office, the former intelligence service and legal defense unit of the Scientology network. In 1982 he became the Chief Executive Officer and later the Chairman of the Board of the for-profit corporation Author Services Inc. (ASI). Miscavige stayed on this position until 1987.

About the role and the position of the RTC within the structure of the Scientology network, David Miscavige declared in 1994:

" Since March of 1987, I have been Chairman of the Board of Religious Technology Center . RTC is not part of Church management, nor is it involved in the daily affairs of various Church of Scientology organizations or missions. RTC ensures that the trademarks of Dianetics and Scientology, and the technology they represent, are properly used around the world.

8 . RTC was formed with the specific purpose of seeing that the religion of Scientology was kept pure and true to the source materials of the religion. In fact, a major reason for its formation was to have such a Church organization that performed these functions in a capacity entirely separate from the actual management of the various Churches and Missions of Scientology. Not only is RTC not involved in the management of the international hierarchy of Scientology churches, but its very existence and performance of its true functions depends on the fact that it is not part of Church management. The authority of the Religious Technology Center stems from the ownership of the trademarks of Dianetics and Scientology.

11. Neither RTC nor I has any corporate authority over any Scientology church, including CSI. CSI is the Mother Church of the Scientology religion and has been since its inception in 1981. As such, CSI is responsible for the activities commensurate with such a role, including the ecclesiastical management of Churches, dissemination and propagation of the faith and defense of its activities, including external and legal affairs. "

Such representations stand in stark contrast to declarations of high-level ex-scientologists, who have worked in the Scientology management. Former CSI security officer Andre Tabayoyon and former RTC second-in-command Jesse Prince have stated in affidavits and declarations that RTC and its chairman David Miscavige maintain de facto control of the entire Scientology network, including the Church of Scientology International.

Within that context, André Tabayoyon stated in a 1994 declaration the following about Miscavige's exertion of power as Chairman of the Board and ultimate head of the global Scientology network:

" 59. I have personal knowledge that Miscavige issues oral and written orders and instructions to Scientologists irrespective of either ecclesiastical lines of authority or corporate lines of is authority or demarcation. Miscavige uses this omnipotent authority to exercise personal control over any and all Scientology organizations whenever he elects to do so. I observed that in running the various Scientology organizations, Miscavige constantly crosses all corporate and ecclesiastical command lines without regard to the fact that there are numerous Scientology related corporations of which he is neither an employee, officer nor director. He does not have to be to control any Scientology organization. He is above all Scientology organizations as the ecclesiastical head of Scientology, COB RTC and Commander of the Sea Org. In this capacity, Miscavige acts as the managing agent of each Scientology organization."

" 61. I personally observed Miscavige take over this position of ultimate power over all of Scientology after Hubbard died. I observed Miscavige when he was COB RTC ordering into Golden Era Studios ("Gold"), a CSI division, and ordering into the Commodore's Messenger Organization International ("CMO Int"), another CSI division planetary dissemination organization, etc. Both of these Sea Org units are corporately part of CSI. RTC, CMO Int and Gold are all located at a large compound outside of Hemet, California. It is called Gold. As I learned, the Scientology corporate structure was only for the benefit of the outside "wog" world. It didn't have any bearing on how Scientology operated."

"62. When Hubbard was alive it was common knowledge and I also observed it personally that he was in direct control, via Miscavige and Pat Broeker, of CMO Int and Gold, and the rest of Scientology. After Hubbard died Miscavige ousted Pat Broeker and Vicki Aznaran, who were then in control of Scientology. After that, it was my experience that Miscavige had complete control over Scientology just as Hubbard had when he was alive. Miscavige took over Hubbard's place as managing agent of all Scientology organizations. "

Mark ("Marty") Rathbun, David Miscavige and Warren McShane, Deputy Inspector General for Legal Affairs formed for several years the above-mentioned "Board of Directors RTC". As of March 2008, all references to both Rathbun and McShane have disappeared from the RTC website, and their names or pictures have also been removed from other official Scientology websites. Though Miscavige is still listed as Chairman of the Board, no other board members are acknowledged.

Within the executive branch of RTC existed at least until 2001 the position of "Inspector General RTC," which had been held by Mark Rathbun. This network spanned from RTC headquarters in Gilman Hot Springs to all of the "Advanced Organizations" in Los Angeles, Clearwater, East Grinstead, Copenhagen and Sidney, where RTC has maintained offices.

In an internal newsletter, "Keeping Scientology Working," RTC stated the following about the purpose and duties of the "Inspector General Network":

"These Deputy Inspector Generals head the entire IG Network, which locates and handles internal and external infiltration and suppression, legally protects and safeguards the trademarks and technology of the religion of Scientology, and sees that management, orgs and missions and their application of tech and policy remain standard and true to LRH's writings."

While RTC has a dominant role over the "mother church," CSI and its subordinate organizations, the relationship to the Church of Spiritual Technology (CST) is unclear. While the above-mentioned "assignment agreement" with L. Ron Hubbard on May 10, 1982 granted CST corporative authority over RTC with respect to Scientology's trademarks and service marks, there is no sign that CST ever executed any internal, "ecclesiastical" authority over RTC. In fact, the U.S. Claims Court noted in its opinion in a tax case, which involved CST in 1992:

"CST claims that it does not and will not monitor RTC's use of the religious marks and technology. CST explains that there is no need to do so because any unorthodox use would be immediately obvious. Regardless of how it arrived at the conclusion, however, the point is that one of its obligations is to prevent misuse of the marks and technology. CST's present confidence in RTC has no significance. If CST ignored that element of its charter, one of the assumptions built into LRH's gift would be missing. Monitoring for a misuse by RTC is a form of ongoing oversight. The decision to exercise the option is an ecclesiastical one which would not be readily susceptible to judicial review."