14 DAY TRIAL // Katie Holmes wants out of her 5-year marriage to Tom Cruise and she's seeking sole custody of their 6-year-old daughter, Suri. The straw that broke the camel's back was Scientology – particularly Tom's intention of shipping Suri off to Sea Org.
Sea Org (or Sea Organization) is reserved only for the highest level members of Scientology, and it implies spending time on board the cruise The Freewinds for years on a row, without as much as the ability to make a phone call to family members.
TMZ claims to have it on good authority that Tom was making plans to hand his daughter over to Sea Org, something which Katie had hoped would never happen.
In the end, when she saw that there was no talking him out of it and she realized that she was coming dangerously close to losing her daughter, she filed for divorce.
This would explain why Tom is said to have been blindsided by the divorce papers: after all, just two weeks before, they had been photographed by the paparazzi out for a walk, hand in hand like a regular loving couple.
“Sea Org, as it is known, is where the highest levels of Scientology are taught – and according to the Church website, it is composed of adults and minors who have committed their lives to the volunteer service of their religion. Our sources say Tom is a big fan,” TMZ reports.
“Our sources say Katie and Tom had been arguing over Suri's indoctrination into Scientology – and we're told the Sea Org was the flashpoint,” adds the same media outlet.
“The Sea Org has been often compared to a boot camp and several ex-Scientologists (including Oscar winner Paul Haggis) have been outspoken against its military-like conditions. The Freewinds, the massive Scientology boat that was the location of Cruise's infamous birthday party in 2004, is entirely staffed by Sea Org members,” the report further mentions.
There are various accounts available online about how strict life on The Freewinds is, including about how, once there, you can't get off until the higher-ups consent to it, no matter what you might want.
TMZ underlines that, under such conditions, it was normal for her to want Suri as far away from Sea Org as possible: in the end, she saw no other option but to end the marriage altogether.
As we also reported the other day, Katie filed the divorce papers in New York because she stands better chances there of being awarded full custody of her daughter, who would thus be away from Tom and Scientology clutches.