Paul Haggis, a Church of Scientology member for 35 years, opposes the actions of the Scientology chapter in San Diego that supported Proposition 8, banning gay marriage in California.And the Oscar for most public resignation from a church goes to ... Paul Haggis.
In a stinging letter to Church of Scientology spokesman Tommy Davis, the Canadian screenwriter and director quit the controversial group over the weekend, citing "tacit" church support for banning same-sex marriage.
"I reached a point several weeks ago where I no longer knew what to think. You had allowed our name to be allied with the worst elements of the Christian Right," writes Haggis, 56, who won two Oscars for directing and writing the movie Crash. London, Ont.-born Haggis, a member of Scientology for 35 years, had previously been a vigorous defender of the faith.
In the letter, Haggis recalls asking Davis, son of actress and Scientologist Ann Archer, several times over the past year to publicly denounce the actions of the Scientology chapter in San Diego in support of California's Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage in the state.
"You told me you were horrified, that you would get to the bottom of it and 'heads would roll.' You promised action. Ten months passed. No action was forthcoming," Haggis writes in the 1,500-word letter.
"The church's refusal to denounce the actions of these bigots, hypocrites and homophobes is cowardly. I can think of no other word. Silence is consent, Tommy."
His letter comes amid a bad few days for Scientology, founded by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in 1953. In fact, it's been a bad few months. On Saturday, Davis walked out of an interview with Martin Bashir on the ABC program Nightline after being asked whether the church believed Earth was populated by an alien lord called Xenu 75 million years ago, calling the line of questioning "offensive."
And while the membership of celebrities such as John Travolta and Tom Cruise has garnered Scientology much media attention over the years, Travolta's involvement drew some unwanted interest earlier this year with the death of son Jett.
In the ensuing coverage, it was revealed that Travolta and wife Kelly Preston had treated Jett's seizures with a detoxification program based on Hubbard's writings.
Then, last June, the St. Petersburg Times printed a lengthy investigative package about Scientology and its inner workings, drawing largely on interviews with one-time top scientologists Mike Rinder and Marty Rathburn.
The stories made allegations of beatings by church leader David Miscavige, the use of confidential information to keep followers in line and strong-arm tactics to gain tax-exempt status in the United States – a status it does not have in Canada. Haggis drew on the stories in his letter.
"These were not the claims made by 'outsiders' looking to dig up dirt against us. These accusations were made by top international executives who had devoted most of their lives to the church," he writes.
He also refers to a CNN interview in which Davis denies that members must shun any who leave the church, with Haggis revealing that his wife has, at "terrible personal pain," broken ties with her own parents after they left Scientology.
In writing the letter, Haggis says he may suffer the same fate.
"I am now painfully aware that you might see this as an attack and just as easily use things I have confessed over the years to smear my name. Well, luckily I have never held myself up to be anyone's role model."
The Toronto office of the Church of Scientology was contacted by the Star Monday afternoon, and a message left for the public relations department. No response was received by Monday evening.
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