Scientologists in Mexico applied to the
Secretariat of the Interior (Secretariat of Governance) on December 12,
2011 for registration as a religious association. If they do not obtain
it, they will claim discrimination.
Translation of a Spanish article posted on Feb. 25, 2012 on the website of the Mexican daily
El Diario:
Solicitan cienciólogos otra vez ser registrados como iglesia
Quote:
Scientologists again applying to be registered as a church
by Verónica Sánchez
Agencia Reforma
February 25, 2012
Mexico
City — With an 80-kilo dossier [NOTE: the second article below says 8,
not 80], the Church of Scientology in Mexico is for a second time
seeking registration as a religious association. Its earlier
application in 1999 was not granted.
With the approval of their
leaders, church members last December 12 presented to the Directorate of
Religious Associations of the Secretariat of the Interior more than
1,700 pages of attestations to its activity in Mexico since the 1960s.
Luis
González, director of Community Programs Support for the church, says
that, at the time of the first application, the authorities argued that
the church did not meet the requirement of having well-known roots, in
other words a presence of five years in Mexico. Accordingly, the
Directorate administratively withdrew the application and the case was
closed.
González says that the church had provided statements
from its members, but then requests began for statements from outside
persons, from officials, notaries, etc.
"The requirements reached such a point that we had to put the application dossier on wheels."
To
avoid the same outcome, González explains that the new dossier contains
200 statements from neighbors and workers in businesses located near
Scientology's temples, from notaries who certify the actions that
Scientologists have performed, as well as from officials with whom
Scientologists have worked on charitable projects.
Due to the
weight of the 13 folders, González says they had to be transported from
the Scientology temple at the corner of Balderas and Juárez to the
government offices at Paseo de la Reforma in a file cabinet to which
wheels were added.
"It is clear in our conscience that, if
registration is denied, it is solely because of discrimination. There
wouldn't be any doubt for us, this is not because of the law.
"This
is an issue of equity. Ultimately, it's about the workings of a secular
state. Either we are all equal, or we are not," contends González.
González
points out that Mexico is the Spanish-speaking country that has the
highest number of Scientologists, a total of 5,300, but is paradoxically
the only one where Scientology is not recognized as a religious
association. He explains that the only reason for which registration is
being sought is to comply with national regulations in this area and
because Scientology's own members have requested it.
"It is part
of our belief to know that we follow the rules and norms of a country.
We are in 167 countries and the rules are very different in each
country," says González.
Roberto Blancarte, director of the Center for Sociological Studies of El Colegio de México, says it is not customary for so many preconditions to be required of a church.
"There
certainly has been more required from them than from others, so there
is some fear they won't be treated equitably or justly," notes
Blancarte.
According to the Law on Religious Associations, to
obtain registration, the church must also prove that it has endeavored
for the practice and propagation of a doctrine, that it has sufficient
resources to devote to its purpose, and that it possesses internal
statutes.
Blancarte mentions that, once the registration process
begins, the Directorate of Religious Associations analyzes the submitted
documentation but does not specify a time limit for its response.
When the Directorate lacks information, it notifies the organization and gives it three months to comply.
Translation of a Spanish article posted on February 23, 2012 on the website of the weekly Mexican magazine
Milenio:
Cienciología solicita registro con 8 kilos de documentos
Quote:
Group wants to avoid second denial
Scientology seeks registration with 8 kilos of documents
by Eugenia Jiménez
February 23, 2012
Scientology
has for the second time applied to the Secretariat of the Interior for
registration to become a religious association. Approximately 8 kilos of
information were submitted to avoid having the request turned down
because of a lacking document.
On December 12 of last year,
church members delivered various letters in which they explain the work
they've done together with the Federal Attorney General's Office in
prevention programs against drug use, along with testimonials from
neighbors and businesses near Scientology temples to demonstrate that
Scientology has well-known roots in the community.
Ana Rosa Lugo
and Luis González, two of the church's leaders, announced that the
certified documentation has been delivered, with the signatures of
public notaries who validated public religious activities and
exhibitions about the meaning of Scientology.
The dossier
consists of more than 200 statements from neighbors who provided visual
testimony and are not members of the church, but work in nearby
businesses.
Scientology's first application to become a
religious association was filed in 1998, but the Secretariat of the
Interior denied it in 1999 because it was not proven that Scientology
has well-known roots among the population, even though this group has
existed in Mexico since 1960.
For the 1998 registration request,
only statements from Scientologists were provided to the Secretariat of
the Interior, and the Secretariat explained that this was not valid.
This time, neighbors were sought out and their statements were made
before a notary. Documents from the boroughs of the Federal District
were also submitted.
Ever since the year in which the denial of
registration occurred, the leaders of the church have held meetings with
the Directorate of Religious Affairs to find out the causes that led to
the refusal of status as a religious association.
The process
has taken 14 years, but during that time, the authorities have been
given reports about what the activities of the church are.
It is
"awkward not being registered like other churches, because both they
and our parishioners have been asking us why the church doesn't have the
registration," explains Luis González.
Scientology is currently
present at the national level and its facilities are located in Mexico
City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey. It has 5 thousand followers.
Translation of a Spanish article posted on October 10, 2012 on the website of the Mexico City daily newspaper
Now Scientology ...by Enrique Aranda
October 10, 2012
Its
mandate now about to end in December, the second Mexican federal
government formed by the National Action Party is preparing to strike a
hard blow—"one more" as some would say—to the Catholic Church, whose
doctrine the party say it draws upon and whose principles, the party’s
members claim, entirely or at least partly inspire their actions.
Within
a few days, Alejandro Poiré, the Secretary of the Interior, and
undersecretary Gustavo Mohar are expected to sign and officially deliver
the registration that recognizes the "church" of Scientology as a
religious association. This will deepen the profound differences that,
for the past six years, at least, have characterized the relationship
between government authorities and the Catholic hierarchy, which
formally represents more than 80% of Mexico’s population.
Today,
it is, in fact, safe to say that official recognition has already been
granted to Scientology, even though a third party could legally
challenge this decision, but the fact is that the favorable outcome was
announced last September 13 in the
Diario Oficial
[“Official Gazette”], which clearly stated that Scientology’s promoters
had exhibited "sufficient evidence to prove that the religious group
has existed for a long time and has well-known roots among the
population."
It should be emphasized that the application filed,
curiously enough, on December 12, 2011 [December 12 is the feast day of
Our Lady of Guadalupe, a national symbol of Mexico] was not the first
attempt by Scientology—a philosophical/religious system based on the
teachings of Lafayette Ronald Hubbard and claimed to promote
self-realization through a spiritual therapeutic method—to seek legal
recognition. It had already tried in 1999 and the request was denied ...
as had happened before in countries such as Greece, Ireland, Chile,
Denmark, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Belgium ... or even in Spain,
where it only succeeded after lengthy litigation.
This time,
however, the services of Roberto Blancarte, director of the Center for
Sociological Studies of El Colegio de México, and Jonathan Marduk Rico,
Scientology’s spokesman for Latin America, paid off in getting the
authorities to put aside the very serious potential or real public
allegations leveled against Scientology by various sources—brainwashing
for financial gain, psychological and physical abuse of its
followers—and, moreover, to ignore the experience that has prompted
other countries to proceed with caution in assessing similar requests
for recognition.
But what truly matters now in this case, beyond
the granting of registration in itself, is the serious confusion and
malaise that this recognition will generate (and has already caused)
between the Catholic hierarchy and other faiths. There will undoubtedly
be a (political) cost to pay.
We shall see, and we will no doubt be commenting on this again ...
