Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise
Katie Holmes was already worried about the upcoming birth of her baby. According to the tenets of 43-year-old fiancé Tom Cruise's religion, Scientology, she'll have to be silent (not even a moan!) during the delivery, lest the trauma be imprinted in her baby's brain.
Plus, a source says, "Only Tom and a few Scientology supporters will be in the room — not Katie's mother!" And Scientology advocates separating the baby from its mother for at least the first 24 hours after birth.
Now, Star has learned, Katie, 27, is equally stressed about post-birth life with baby!
Scientology's strict rules dictate that mothers shouldn't coddle their kids or even treat them with conventional medicine when they're sick. "It's a lot for an expectant mother to be worrying about," says a friend of Holmes.
LIFE WITH BABYThe church reportedly sees TomKitten as a kind of "second coming" — a kid born to two celeb Scientologists! — and will want to be sure the child's raised within the precepts of the religion right from the start.
The tyke will be minded by a Scientologist nanny, and contact with non-Scientologist family members will be limited. This could be heart-breaking for Katie's Catholic parents, Martin and Kathleen. If they express skepticism about their daughter's new religion, they may be cut off from the child via formal "disconnection."As for day-to-day life with the baby, L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology's founder, discouraged parents from coddling their children, calling a child simply "a man or woman who has not attained full growth." He said that kids should be left to "cry it out" when upset.
So even if baby Cruise falls and hits his head, Katie will be discouraged from giving the child a kiss or a cuddle, but instead told to lay the baby's head on the object it hit so the pain can flow back into it.
(A church spokesperson denies that Scientology discourages coddling and cuddling.) Adds one former Scientologist, "They also put babies to sleep with juice, which might eventually rot the baby's teeth!" NYC-based pediatrician Dr. Ira Sacker agrees: "It affects the teeth and increases problems with the baby's digestion."
Later, TomKitten will probably attend one of the Delphi Academies, Scientologyaffiliated schools. In these academies, students use technology created by Hubbard to study the teachings of the religion — and little else!
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Brad to Sell Motorcycle for Charity
Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt, Ben Affleck and Laurence Fishburne have donated custom-made motorcycles to an online charity auction raising money for a planned memorial for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Washington, D.C.
"People are always quoting (Rev. King)," Oscar winner Morgan Freeman, who organized the auction benefiting the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Foundation, tells the Associated Press. "He's remembered as our prince of peace, of civil rights.
We owe him something major that will keep him and his memory alive." In all, four bikes are on the block: two from Affleck and one each from Pitt and Fishburne. Bids may be placed through Friday on the at charityfolks.com, Freeman says, adding that he hopes "people will overbid" for the worthy cause.
As described on the Charity Folks site, Affleck's "treasured" 2001 2-cylinder, 4 stroke Big Dog Bulldog "has very low miles and is in great condition ... from his home, to yours" (as of Tuesday morning, it was up to $12,000). Fishburne's bike ($11,000 so far) is a replica of the "Captain America" model in the movie Easy Rider.
Pitt's bike, a Ducati SR4, had the lowest bid of the morning: $8,000. Also available for a price: wedge-heeled shoes designed and signed by Jennifer Lopez and a DVD of Catch Me if You Can autographed by its costar, Tom Hanks. Groundbreaking for the monument, to be built on the National Mall, is scheduled for this year, with the aim of dedicating the site in 2008.
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Johansson Tops FHM's 'Sexiest Women' Poll
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson tops a lovely list of the "100 Sexiest Women in the World," in a poll of readers by FHM magazine.
"One of the best things for a woman to hear is that she is sexy," the 21-year-old actress, star of "Match Point" and "Lost in Translation," said in a statement. "I'd like to thank FHM's readers for the huge compliment."
Angelina Jolie is No. 2 on the list, followed by Jessica Alba, Jessica Simpson, Keira Knightley, Halle Berry, Jenny McCarthy, Maria Sharapova, Carmen Electra and Teri Hatcher.
Johansson ranked ninth on last year's list. Jolie was No. 1.
"It's remarkable how Scarlett Johansson has caught the attention of our readers," said Scott Gramling, the magazine's U.S. editor in chief, in a statement.
"Her sultry voice and striking beauty certainly have a lot to do with that, but so does the confidence she exudes."
"She seems to be one of those women who would be equally at ease on the red carpet as she would just hanging out with the guys."
The magazine's May issue goes on sale April 4.
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