(Newser)
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Scientology officials have vehemently denied that little Suri Cruise was destined for high-intensity training within the group's Sea Organization, as Katie Holmes, who stepped out in New York yesterday without a wedding ring on her finger, reportedly feared. But Scientology spokesmen have insisted to TMZ that Suri is not a candidate for "Sea Org," saying those who attend Sea Org training must be at least 16 years old and have the permission of both parents. But a New Yorker article last year revealed information that Sea Org has used young Scientology children as sequestered forced labor within the organization. Sea Org's training takes place on board the Scientology ship the Freewinds, whose homeport is Curacao, and where Cruise had a massive birthday party in 2004. Sea Org member Jessica Feshbach was a "minder" for Holmes when the actress began to date Cruise.
Suri "is coming to an age where she gets educated enough to get locked into the faith," former Scientology senior exec Marty Rathbun told the Independent. "That's why there's almost certainly truth in the consideration that schools play in all of this." Scientologists believe in reincarnation, "that infants are essentially ancient adults in children's bodies," a source familiar with the dispute said. "Tom treats Suri as a little adult. Katie takes the opposite view: that she deserves a childhood." Holmes, who was raised a Catholic, has reportedly recently enrolled Suri in a Catholic school in Manhattan.
