Scientologists deny tailing Cruise' wife, eyeing
daughter
Posted: 03 July 2012 1240 hrs
Photos 1 of 1
Katie Holmes leaves a TV studio on Times Square in New York
without her wedding ring after filing for divorce from fellow actor
Tom Cruise. (AFP - Mehdi Taamallah)
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 on 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 on 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 on Tuesday shooting a film in Iceland --
without his significant other.
- AFP/al