In the wake of the divorce announcement between Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise, and leaks that Cruise’s strange religion played a role in the breakup, there have been reports of strange vehicles and other people tailing Holmes around:
Eonline— The website claimed that two vehicles, a white Cadillac and a black Mercedes, have been keeping tabs on Holmes outside her New York City apartment the past week while she’s been in New York City, though the report acknowledged another publication may be tracking her as well.
The erstwhile Dawson’s Creek star, who filed for divorce from her Rock of Ages man last week, had been having problems reconciling her husband’s commitment to Scientology before she decided to end their six-year union, a source told E! News. In her filing, she asked for sole custody of their 6-year-old daughter, Suri.
I don’t normally follow celebrity gossip, much less post it here. But given the possible revelations from a high profile divorce, includinghow believing in ancient alien souls infecting human psyches — or pretending to — may have affected the relationship, it might be worth checking in every now and then.
But relentless harassment of apostates is a religious tenet of Scientology. Will no one speak up for religious freedom?
Here’s hoping the celebrity gossip press sides with her and ends up making Scientology look like the concentrated lunacy that it is. They won’t even have to make up stuff about it. The actual tenets are loony enough to make their front page without any embellishment.
You’re one rumor behind. According to a “news update” on our local station, Katie doesn’t want Tom to send the kid to something called “Sea Organization” which, if I understood the wooden voice reading the copy, is an indoctrination group. “She wants her daughter raised as a Catholic” – draw your own conclusion at the implied rationale that makes Catholic indoctrination better than Scientology indoctrination.
Have to admit, I looked up some info about this “Sea Organization”. The best line I read was this:
(Emphasis is mine.)
At least the people who signed are still honoring their one-billion-year pledge.
Funny inside story, one time I was part of an editor’s list that used that term sea org as part of its name: it was set up that way specifically to chase away anyone who got curious. We figured if anyone saw that and googled it, they’d think we were a scientology org and run for the hills rather than try to slip into the list.
I must apologize for using
earlier. The daughter’s name is Suri. I have no excuse for referring to her the way I did.
$cientology have lied, and harassed “apostates,” before; so rumors of $cientology goons tailing Holmes are entirely believable, and their denials are entirely unbelievable.
To be fair, Christianity believes in a somewhat alien “soul” affecting human bodies, too. Heaven being extraterrestrial and all. And hell, too.
Except that Christianity probably doesn’t have an acknowledged jail for sinners, like the RPF.
…oh, and one good reason that she wouldn’t want Suri to be in Sea Org is that she would be separated from her parents and treated as an adult. Sea Org initiates have notoriously been treated poorly and have a very poor diet. Of course, Suri, being Tom Cruise’s daughter, would likely not receive the same treatment as others.
@Dean, #4:
And then what? Do they get them to re-pledge in roughly the year 1.000002×10^9? Or are they then free?
From what I’ve read about Scientology, Ms. Holmes and her daughter Suri had better get in-depth security for their persons.
Even if Ms. Holmes has a ton of loot stashed away she should still ask for pro bono work from some of the big law firms in the US. Scientology has the best attack dogs (sharks? lawyers?) money can buy. Even the mighty IRS could not stand against them.
The Church of Scientology is known for its vicious and intimidating tactics in its scorched earth legal dealings.
L. Ron Hubbard’s “fair game doctrine” “enemies may be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist without any discipline of the Scientologist [and] may be tricked, sued, or lied to, or destroyed.” is the reason behind the church’s vehemence in its pursuit of legal matters.
The Village Voice in a February 1, 2012, article titled “The 5 Worst Things Judges Have Said About Scientology” speaks to the grinding, dangerous Scientology legal strategy.
I am more worried about the insidious activities of the Scientologists than the shriek and leap tactics of an insulted radical Muslim.
Realistically, she has more hope gaining sole custody by raising her in the Catholic church. Not that it is justified, but the Catholicism is more socially acceptable. People who will judge this can imagine all kinds of things about Scientology. Still I believe that if she were wanting to raise Suri as a nonbeliever vs Scientology she has a chance of losing for that same reason. People can believe nonbelievers do all sorts of nonsense. However unjustifiable that is.
Employing Occam’s Razor, I’d put the odds slightly in favor of it being just paparazzi, or possibly a PI trying to find dirt in advance of the custody hearing. But only just. It’s not at all implausible that the CoS would pull some shit like this.
Re: Catholic indoctrination vs. Scientology indoctrination… If you put a gun to my head and forced me to send my sons to Sea Org or Catholic school, I’d pick the crazy weird cannibalistic rituals over the ancient DC-40 attack in a heartbeat. Being casually into Scientology is probably about as bad as being a run-of-the-mill Catholic, but being deep into Scientology is bad news.
And Stephen, that anecdote in comment #5 is awesome. :D
I wonder how Nicole Kidman handles Scientology with the kids she has with Tom. I’d be surprised if she wasn’t an atheist.
Yup, the Sea Org is bad news. It’s essentially slave labor.
This is true. Still, it’s a way to further isolate the kid and assimilate her into the cult.
I’ve heard that actress Anne Archer’s son, Tommy Davis, now the spokesbot for Scientology, wanted, once upon a time, to go to university, and was accepted at Columbia. His celebrity mom pressured him to into the Sea Org instead.
Run, Katie, run.
I’ve done a fair bit of reading about Scientology, and I’d say employing Occam’s Razor cuts the other way. They’ve done exactly this (openly trailing people) to much lower-profile defectors. It’s an intimidation tactic.
I would still pick Catholic over even a casual Scientologist. The church has only one aim with it’s non-famous members – bleed them of their money and then when they run out turn them into slave labor. Even the most casual Scientologist is under constant pressure to take classes and buy books and equipment. At least you can be a bad Catholic and the only real threat they have is Hell. The things I have read about Scientology from former members make them sound really scary. They have stalking and mindfucking down to a science.
A billion year contract? Beats all of eternity, I guess.