The saying goes ‘there’s no such thing as bad publicity’, but ask those closely involved with Scientology in the wake of the tell-all documentary Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief and they may well disagree.

The documentary exposed a number of sordid secrets about the church, paying close attention to Tom Cruise and how he has long been the poster boy for the religion. It looks like his days as a brainwashed devoted follower might be numbered, however, and it was a simple phone call from daughter Suri that may have sealed the deal. Below from Gawker:

“She was going on and on about her ballet class and how much she loves it. That’s when Tom realized he’s never seen her perform ballet and he started to tear up,” a Cruise insider [said]. “It hit him that she’s growing up before his eyes and he’s not there to witness most of it. They talk on the phone and video chat, but it’s not the same.”

“Tom has been under tremendous pressure where Suri and Katie are concerned because the church doesn’t want him close to them. They can’t stand that their own poster boy isn’t raising his child in the church,” this person said.

“If they label Suri a suppressive person (a Scientology term for an enemy of the church), as they’ve been known to do with dissenters, that would make it hard for Tom to have a relationship with her. He’s between a rock and a hard place, but he’s finally making a choice to put his daughter first.”

One of the documentary’s focal points was how critical the church is of those who leave the religion, basically forcing its followers to sever all ties with ‘suppressive people’ and associate only with fellow Scientologists.

Maybe Tom and John Travolta can join forces and escape the clutches of the L. Ron Hubbard acolytes. Just channel your inner Maverick and Goose lads, there’s still hope.

You can see the trailer for Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief below.

[source:gawker]