December 31, 2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Linda Simmons Hight
Media Relations Director
Church of Scientology International
6331 Hollywood Blvd. Suite 1200
Los Angeles, CA 90028-6329
Phone (323) 960-3500
Fax (323) 960-3508
E-mail mediarelationsdir@scientology.net

Message for the 2004 New Year
By Reverend Heber C. Jentzsch
President
Church of Scientology International

Despite the ravages of war, terrorism and natural disasters that marked 2003, there is a bright future in 2004 — not because the challenges will be less, but because every one of us has the power and ability to shape that future. It can be done by restoring the role of religion as a civilizing force.

In that spirit Churches of Scientology train thousands of people each year as Volunteer Ministers. These skilled volunteers operate on the motto, expressed by our Founder, L. Ron Hubbard: “Something CAN be done about it.”

They bring to the fore a spiritual technology that resolves the underlying causes of trauma, of failed parenting, of drug addiction and crime.

These volunteers have provided hundreds of thousands of hours assisting rescue workers, fire fighters and emergency personnel and the victims of disasters, such as in the recent fires in Southern California.

They have reached tens of millions with the message “Say No to Drugs, Say Yes to Life.”

Volunteer Ministers work in their communities spanning every continent. They help people solve their personal problems and improve conditions around them through the application of basic principles by L. Ron Hubbard.

The civilizing influence of religion can make it possible to build more schools than prisons, release more prisoners as contributing members of society than those arrested, and graduate more students able to read and learn than those forced into lives of functional illiteracy. Something can be done about resolving conflicts of spousal abuse, economics, ethnicity and even the conflicts of nations. Religion is staying the course for a more viable future.

We urge all people of goodwill to take part in making a better world and in making the help we can provide available to all.

On behalf of the ministers and staff of the Church of Scientology International, we wish each and every person a happy and prosperous new year.