Tom Cruise has admitted his devotion to Scientology may have played a part in his divorce to Katie Holmes.
During their five year marriage the actress was a practitioner of the church although as soon as the couple broke up she left - taking their daughter Suri with her.
The revelation comes as part of a 36-page disposition transcript the actor gave in his legal battle against two U.S. magazines he is suing for libel.
During their five year marriage the actress was a practitioner of the church although as soon as the couple broke up she left - taking their daughter Suri with her.
The revelation comes as part of a 36-page disposition transcript the actor gave in his legal battle against two U.S. magazines he is suing for libel.
He is claiming £31million in damages from In Touch and Life & Style who claimed he had "abandoned" his seven-year-old daughter .
During a fierce exchange last September between the actor and the magazine’s lawyers he was asked if Holmes had divorced him “in part to protect Suri from Scientology”.
“Listen, I find that question offensive,” he exploded.“I find it, those statements offensive. Like with any relationship, there are many different levels to it. You know, I, I find it very offensive. There is no need to protect my daughter from my religion.”
The Mission Impossible star then admits: “Did she say that? That was one of the assertions, yes.”
He was then asked: “Is Suri currently practising Scientology?” to which he replied: “NO”.
The Top Gun star was then asked if this meant Holmes, 34, would be considered a 'Suppressive Person' a Scientology term used to describe members of the religion who publicly renounce their faith.
“That is a distortion and a simplification of the matter,” he is said to have replied.
“I don’t want to just give an oversimplification of religious doctrine.”
The actor, 51, insisted he did his best to see his daughter as much as possible, while making no apologies for his busy schedule in summer 2012, filled with movie shoots and Church of Scientology functions.
The magazine, both owned by German media company Bauer, paid particular interest in the father-of-three’s trip to London last year for the annual International Association of Scientology conference.
“It was an important event. I felt it was important,” said Cruise.
He was grilled at length about hardly seeing Suri for 110 days following his divorce in July last year.
The magazine’s legal team asked if there had been any agreement with Holmes that prevented him from seeing his daughter.
Cruise replied saying it was simply a case of schedules not matching up.
"Unfortunately, in this situation it was impossible.” he said.
During the exchange which took place in Los Angeles, McNamara quizzed Cruise about his inability to see Suri.
She said: “From June 18 of 2012 until Thanksgiving of 2012, you only say Suri a few times, isn’t that right?” to which he replied “yes”.
The actor then offered during that time he was able to remain in Suri's life through conversations on the telephone.
“I’ve gotten very good at it. I’ve gotten very good at it. I tell wonderful stories and they like hearing it.”
However McNamara replied: "It really doesn’t substitute for being able to be there does it?"
“No, it doesn’t” Cruise replied.
She pushed further when questioning why he was able to attend a Scientology event and return to his filming schedule within 24 hours, but not make a visit to his daughter.
“That’s not true . . different situation,” Cruise is quoted as saying.
McNamara then compares his parenting skills to his own father Thomas Mapother III, who allegedly left the actor when he was a child.
“The fact that you would suggest that I was being like my father… I find that greatly offencive,” he said.
As no settlement has been reached the case it set to go trial next year.
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