Maria Pia Gardini (born 14 October 1936,

Rovereto Rovereto (; "wood of sessile oaks"; locally: ''Roveredo'') is a city and ''comune'' in Trentino in northern Italy, located in the Vallagarina valley of the Adige River. History Rovereto was an ancient fortress town standing at the frontier b ...

– 23 September 2012,

Grosseto Grosseto () is a city and ''comune'' in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the Ombrone river. It is the m ...

) was an Italian

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

and a former

Scientologist Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a Scientology as a business, business, or a new religious movement. The most recent ...

. When retired, she lived in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

and was one of the most critical voices of the

Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a scientology as a business, bu ...

. She was the cousin of Raul Gardini and worked in film and cinema advertising until 1985. That year, following her daughter and also to help in the process of detoxification from drugs, she entered into Scientology. She remained in that organization until 1994 after reaching the highest levels of technical Scientology (reaching the highest level available today: OT VIII) and becoming one of the most brilliant and appreciated "auditors" of the movement, resulting in the 1989 and 1990 Recognition of Scientology as the best "auditor" of the year. She has taken a strong critical attitude towards Scientology after she left it. From 1994 to 2002, she lived in Tunisia and worked as an entrepreneur.

Her years in Scientology

In the mid-80s, Frederica, the daughter of Maria Pia Gardini, entered a

Narconon Narconon International (commonly known as Narconon) is a Scientology organization which promotes the theories of founder L. Ron Hubbard regarding substance abuse treatment and addiction. Its parent company is the Association for Better Living ...

center which belongs to the Church of Scientology. She convinced her mother, who was going through a difficult period because of her father's death, to attend the first of Scientology auditing sessions. Here her career within the organization began, through a disbursement of growing sums of money, and she became one of the most popular Scientology auditors (auditor Class IX). She reached the highest positions of the organization by entering the

Sea Org The Sea Organization (also known as the Sea Org) is a Scientology organization, which the Church of Scientology describes as a " fraternal religious order, comprising the religion’s most dedicated members". All Scientology management organizatio ...

. On 18 October 1990, her 29-year-old daughter, who had achieved OT VIII, died of AIDS. In 1991, the leadership of the organization denied Gardini permission to see her mother who was ill, because as Gardini said "the fact that my mother was dying was not important". In 1994, after spending nearly two million U.S. dollars on Scientology, Maria Pia Gardini began the process of leaving Scientology. The Church gave her back $500,000.

Criticism of Scientology and harassment

After leaving Scientology, Maria Pia Gardini, who was experiencing near bankruptcy, began to recount her experience and her years within the organization in the media. She published a book. Her testimony was very important as it came from a person who had reached the highest levels of the movement. It is also considered by the Church of Scientology as an inconvenient and unwelcome testimony since it evoked harassment and pressure from the organisation. The Church of Scientology replied that Maria Pia Gardini's criticism was false, as it came from an apostate. In 2005, Gardini said she was a victim of harassment from the Church. She was a member of an anti-cults association. She died on 23 September 2012.

Bibliography

* Maria Pia Gardini; Alberto Laggia, ''I miei anni in Scientology'', Paoline editions, 2007. * Alberto Laggia, Maria Pia Gardini, ''Il coraggio di parlare. Storie di fuoriusciti da Scientology'', Paoline editions, 2009. * Maria Pia Gardini, ''Maremma: Un amore proibito'', Edizioni Effigi, 2011. * Maria Pia Gardini, ''Specchietti per allodole'', Edizioni Effigi, 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardini, Maria Pia 1936 births People from Rovereto Former Scientologists Critics of Scientology 2012 deaths