The contagion of skeptics | The ship of Hund …

A Scientology church boat, which discovers Western medicine and seeks to avoid medical treatments and vaccines, is quarantined after the detection of a case of measles on board. The ship, which is expected to carry about 300 people, requested a hundred doses of vaccines to the authorities of the Caribbean island of Santa Lucia, where it was moored until yesterday, as it was traveling. in Curacao.

"In view of the highly infectious nature of measles, in addition to the possibility that other persons on board the ship have been in contact and could transmit the disease, it has been decided to allow no one to disembark", said Marlene Fredericks-James, the highest authority. medical of the island.

The quarantined vessel is the Freewinds, a 134-meter long vessel, usually based in Curacao, used by the Church of Scientology as a retreat. Scientology particularly woo Hollywood celebrities. Their most famous representatives are actors Tom Cruise, John Travolta and Juliette Lewis, as well as the musician Beck.

Scientologists do not explicitly escape medical treatment or advocate for immunization, but consider that disease is a sign of weakness for which the patient is responsible. As a result, they are skeptical about Western medicine.

According to the doctrine of Scientology, human beings are inhabited by an immortal spirit called "thetan" who "animates" the body in which they live temporarily. To spend a season in the Freewinds is a necessary condition to reach level 8 of Thetán Operante, which is the highest level of spirituality.

"If a Scientologist catches a cold, they ask him to write an essay on those he thinks could make him sick," said Tony Ortega, an independent Scientology researcher since the 1990s. .

In her blog devoted to monitoring church-related events and giving space to the "apostates" who abandon her, Ortega speculates that many of the faithful on board are probably not vaccinated.

As for the person infected with measles, "they will certainly question you and punish you, because if you get sick so well, in Scientology, it will always be your fault."

That something like this happening in an iconic place, such as the Freewinds, adds a complication to the "public relations disaster" that this affair represents for the image of the church. "Scientologists do not want to be badociated with something like that, it's a terrible story for them and incredibly embarrbading," he said. It's the worst thing that's happened to them for a long time. "

The latest scandals that affected the church were the desertions of actresses Katie Holmes, in 2012, and Leah Remini, the star of the king of queens, a year later.

On its website, the Church describes the ship as "a very special place". But critics say that it is also a form of imprisonment for those who doubt doctrine in worship.

The faithful of Scientology, a tax-exempt organization created in 1953 by science fiction writer Ron Hubbard, pay dozens – and sometimes hundreds – of thousands of dollars to advance the "Bridge to Total Freedom" to to: achieve economic and spiritual success.

According to Ortega reports from The Underground Bunker, its portal dedicated to this cult, the transit of the "bridge" can cost from $ 500,000 to $ 2 million.

Remini has been very active since his desertion and has recently launched a documentary series in which he denounces allegations of abuse and harbadment. The church has always denied such accusations. But Jenna Miscavige, niece of the organization's executive director, David Miscavige, who left the church in 2005, also denounced child labor and the forced distance of their loved ones in an autobiography in 2013 titled Beyond Belief ("Incredible").

The case of the Freewinds comes at a time of reappearance of measles in the world, especially because of an anti-vaccination movement that has spread in recent years. According to the World Health Organization, measles cases worldwide have quadrupled in the first three months of this year compared to the same period last year.