SOURCE: Kirstie Alley will be memorialized at Scientology’s ‘spiritual mecca’

The readers of the Underground Bunker know that when Scientologists die, even fairly well known ones, they sometimes get more of a memorial here than they do from Scientology itself.

Chick Corea was an exception. The church actually put out a statement after his death of cancer last year. And now, one of our sources in the church tells us, Scientology will hold a memorial at its spiritual mecca, the Flag Land Base in Clearwater, for Kirstie Alley.

The Cheers actress died in nearby Tampa after a short battle with cancer, according to her children True and Lillie Stevenson. They made the announcement on social media last night, and the press coverage of Kirstie’s death has been heavy.

Meanwhile, our source said that the news also caused quite a stir in the church itself, where Alley was one of its most iconic celebrity members.

In 2018 we reported that one of Scientology’s own publications revealed that Alley had reached the ultimate auditing level on the “Bridge to Total Freedom,” which is known as Operating Thetan Level Eight, or “OT 8.” The magazine included this quote from the actress about attaining a level that gave her “cause over matter, energy, space, and time.”

Now here I stand a New OT VIII shiny, fresh and calm… well, as calm as a thetan like me can be. I am more confident than ever before. And here’s the big news. I now fully have the confront that puts me right up that damn confront scale with other Scientology Freedom Fighters!

Naturally, we’re getting a lot of questions about whether Alley, as an OT 8, would have trusted in Scientology auditing rather than getting proper medical care. Scientologists often adopt founder L. Ron Hubbard’s deep distrust of the medical profession, and seek alternative treatments.

However, Scientologists are not prohibited from getting proper care. (Scientology only discourages its members from taking psychiatric drugs.) We have talked to former church members who said the organization did not stand in their way when they wanted proper medical care for cancer or other ailments.

But both Mike Rinder and Leah Remini have pointed out that Scientologists may first trust Scientology answers before seeking medical help, leading to disastrous consequences.

Leah spoke to this more fully in a piece we wrote for Rolling Stone this morning.

Mike, meanwhile, said this at his blog this morning:

Though Hubbard claimed to have the cure for cancer — especially on NOTs (New Era Dianetics for OTs) — two of the more prominent Scientologists to have died (Kirstie and Kelly Preston) both succumbed to the disease, yet both had done all there was to do on NOTs. (See blog post L. Ron Hubbard on Cancer) Like the other cures promised by Hubbard in Dianetics and thereafter, the real tragedy is that people believe that Scientology auditing and/or PTS handling will resolve their physical conditions. Often, seeking solutions through auditing, chiropractors or the latest fad cures only available in Mexico, they delay resorting to medical treatment until it is too late. I fear this may have been the case with Kirstie given the wording of the announcement that her cancer was “only recently discovered.” These days it is not common for cancer to be rapidly terminal if it is diagnosed early.

It’s perhaps the saddest aspect of the whole Scientology bag of worms — that people die sooner than they should because of their faith in the promises of Hubbard. He certainly didn’t live up to his own claims — he was a physical and mental mess when he died.

Another question we often get about Scientology’s celebrities is whether they are aware of the abuses in its ranks, and particularly in the Sea Organization, which is the hardcore elite that sign billion-year contracts.

Regarding that, in 2013 we got to know Claudio and Renata Lugli, who for years were tailors to Scientology leader David Miscavige before they left the church. They have two sons: Tiziano Lugli, who is a well-known defector in his own right, and Flavio Lugli, who is in the Sea Org.

Claudio and Renata shared photos with us that showed at one time, Kirstie had come to stay with them in Italy and had become particularly close with Flavio. 

[Flavio Lugli and Kirstie Alley, 1996]

Flavio joined the Sea Org in 1997 and disconnected from the rest of the family when, in 2009 and 2010, the Luglis, like so many other Scientology families, began having doubts about David Miscavige and the direction the church was taking. Renata wrote at length in 2010 about how devastated she was that Flavio had turned them in for looking up “entheta” on the Internet (negative publicity about the church) and they’ve heard nothing from him since then.

This morning, we reached Renata in Brescia, and asked her if she thought Kirstie Alley was aware of how Scientology had torn the Lugli family apart.

“Absolutely,” she said. She added that Alley would have had no choice about accepting the situation.

“There is no free, personal or critical thinking in Scientology, you have to comply with the policies,” she says.

But she added that she and Claudio still have warm feelings for her after the years of their tight friendship, between 1996 and 2006, when Scientology pushed her away.

“A dear farewell to Kirstie Alley, our close friend who remained so even after her disconnection from us due to Scientology. She will remain in our hearts and at this time our sincere condolences go out to her children Lillie and True, and to Parker, father of her children.”

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Scientology’s grimmest anniversary

Yesterday was the darkest day on the Scientology history calendar. And once again, we marked December 5 by reposting the conclusion of our series on Lisa McPherson. We then talked about it on a short video that went out to everyone. This morning we’re linking to it here again. And here’s the YouTube version….

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Thank you for reading today’s story here at Substack. For the full picture of what’s happening today in the world of Scientology, please join the conversation at tonyortega.org, where we’ve been reporting daily on David Miscavige’s cabal since 2012. There you’ll find additional stories, and our popular regular daily features:

Source Code: Actual things founder L. Ron Hubbard said on this date in history

Avast, Ye Mateys: Snapshots from Scientology’s years at sea

Overheard in the Freezone: Indie Hubbardism, one thought at a time

Past is Prologue: From this week in history at alt.religion.scientology

Random Howdy: Your daily dose of the Captain

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