Scientologists deny tailing Cruise' wife, eyeing daughter
LOS ANGELES — The Church of Scientology denied sending anyone to follow Katie Holmes after she filed for divorce from Tom Cruise, amid reports she feared her husband's plans for their daughter.
A lawyer for the church also dismissed reports that Cruise -- a prominent Scientologist -- wanted their six-year-old daughter Suri to join the Sea Organization, described as a boot camp for the controversial religion.
"There is no truth whatsoever to the TMZ.com report (or any other report) that the Church of Scientology has sent anyone to follow or surveil Katie Holmes," lawyer Gary Soter told AFP in an emailed letter.
"The allegation about a 6-year-old joining the Sea Org is similarly untrue," added Soter, who described himself as counsel for the Church of Scientology International.
Celebrity news website TMZ reported that Holmes, who announced on Friday that she was filing for divorce, feared that he wanted their daughter to join the Sea Org in the near future.
But it cited the Scientologist's lawyer as saying nobody under the age of 16 can join the elite body, adding that minors must have the "consent of both parents and/or all legal guardians" to become members.
TMZ also cited sources close to Holmes as saying she believes the Church of Scientology views her as a threat to the organization, and has put a team on her tail, with "mysterious" men and vehicles tailing her in recent weeks.
The attorney's statement came after 33-year-old Holmes was spotted in New York on Monday without her wedding ring.
She left a shoot for a television series in Times Square, her hair pulled back conservatively in a sleek pony tail and wearing a navy ensemble. Throngs of television satellite trucks and paparazzi were camped outside the Manhattan building where she was staying.
Cruise, who turns 50 Tuesday, wed Holmes in a storybook Italian castle in November 2006 after declaring his love for the former "Dawson's Creek" star live on "Oprah" -- famously jumping up and down on a couch in the studio.
It was Holmes's first marriage and Cruise's third.
Holmes announcement that she was filing for divorce reportedly took Cruise by surprise. A spokeswoman said Friday that he was "deeply saddened" by the move to end their five-year marriage.
Cruise is among the many celebrity members of the Church of Scientology.
American Scientology leader David Miscavige was said to have officiated at the event, arguably the most high-profile Scientology wedding to date, in a ceremony that lasted no more than 15 minutes.
Tabloids, shadowing the couple since the get-go, have speculated for some time that the relationship was on the rocks after the pair was not seen together for months. Cruise has also won two lawsuits against publications alleging he is gay.
Reports at the time of Holmes's marriage to Cruise said that under the prenuptial agreement, Holmes -- who converted to Scientology -- would receive $3 million for every year of the marriage plus ownership of a California mansion if they split.
Holmes has admitted to having a teenage crush on Cruise, even saying she had put up a poster of the "Top Gun" star in her bedroom.
In an interview with Playboy magazine in May, Cruise said he would be spending his birthday Tuesday shooting a film in Iceland -- without his significant other.
Former Church of Scientology inspector general Marty Rathbun explains how he escaped a destructive cult and what Katie Holmes is up against
Rathbun says Scientology leader David Miscavige became drunk with Hollywood life and abusive to church managers. He claims Miscavige also paid staffers less than minimum wage to customize Tom Cruise's home and cars.
MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012, 10:51 PMBY MARTY RATHBUN / FOR THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Former Scientology member Marty Rathbun says Katie Holmes is up against harassment now that she's divorcing one of the religion's most notable members, Tom Cruise.
I held a senior management position in the Church of Scientology from 1982 until 2004. During the last several years I was the inspector general of Scientology and answered only to Scientology’s Chairman of the Board David Miscavige.
During that time at the top I came to realize that Miscavige was progressively turning Scientology into a destructive cult. He began to spend most of his time courting and entertaining celebrities, most notably Tom Cruise.
Miscavige used church staff, who were paid less than minimum wage, to customize Cruise’s home, motorcoach and motorcycles. Then Miscavige presented the lavish productions himself to Cruise as personal gifts.
As Miscavige became more drunk with the thrill of Hollywood life, he became more abusive toward church managers. In January 2004, Miscavige held more than 80 senior management personnel in a couple of double-wide trailers that had been converted into an office building. He instituted group confessions where senior managers were physically and verbally coerced into confessing to harboring disloyal thoughts about Miscavige.
The managers were beaten, hazed, and degraded for up to 24 hours a day.
This is what Katie Holmes is up against. This represents the mindset of the guy who Tom Cruise has publicly stated is his best friend — the guy who was best man at their wedding.
This is the circle Cruise runs in. And clearly, he wants his daughter to follow in his footsteps. Katie Holmes, for good reason, doesn’t want that to happen.
Suri is only 6, but at the age where private tutoring and casual indoctrination could be a precursor to her becoming part of the church as early as age 10 .
Miscavige maintained a management prison known as “the hole.” Managers in the hole were required to sleep on the floor, eat cold leftovers, and were confined to the premises 24/7 for weeks on end. In late January, Miscavige sentenced me to the hole.
On approximately the third day in the hole I decided that nothing could be done to reform this insanity from within and I escaped. After three years of decompressing from the experience on the outside, in 2008 I met up with friends who had followed my lead and left the Scientology compound after I had. I learned that Miscavige had prison bars installed at “the hole” in response to my escape and that his sadistic behavior had increased since I left.
In 2009, I decided that I had to speak out before someone was killed in “the hole.” I have been helping former members of the church recover and decompress from their experiences since. I have also worked to make it safe for people to stand up to the Church of Scientology and hold it accountable for such abuses. I operate a blog called Moving On Up A Little Higher at markrathbun.wordpress.com that serves as a forum for former members.
I have also tried to help people distinguish the philosophy of Scientology (which I find does help when used with the purpose of helping) from the abusive cult-like organization that the Church of Scientology has become.
Marty Rathbun is a former manager within the Church of Scientology. His book “What is Wrong With Scientology? Healing Through Understanding” was published last week.
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