Can Cruise win over the Cruzes?

MSNBC/November 14, 2001

Not everyone is giving their blessings to Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz's relationship. Cruz's parents "are very upset" about the prospect of their daughter marrying the world's biggest movie star, says a well-placed insider, because of Cruise's religion.

Cruise is A devout Scientologist and the religion is highly controversial in Spain. Spanish government prosecutors have been waging a legal war against the church for years. They have charged church officials with a variety of misdeeds, including kidnapping, tax fraud and damaging public health. In September, prosecutors asked the government to dissolve the church, which is not recognized as a religion in Spain. A lawyer for the church has called the charges "religious prejudice."

"Penelope's parents are devout Catholics,"says the source. "There is no way that Tom Cruise is going to marry Penelope if she's not a Scientologist. Penelope has always been somewhat independent in her thoughts and actions, and the word is that she's taking Scientology courses on an almost daily basis. Her parents are not happy."

There are reports, however, that Cruise has been taking Spanish lessons in an effort to win over Cruz's parents. Cruz's rep denies that the star's parents object to Cruise's religion, and calls the story "utterly ridiculous."