THE high-profile split of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes has thrown the spotlight on the Scientology cult – but one Co Donegal mum says she has no problem raising her daughter inside the organisation.
Holmes, a Catholic, has claimed she split with the top actor over fears for her six-year-old daughter Suri inside the church.
But the cult here in Ireland is using testimonials from a Co Donegal woman to push the religion here.
Zabrina Collins backs the church here – and says she has no problems raising her daughter within it. She says scientology worked for her.
“My father struggled with alcohol dependency,” says Collins in a testimonial for the Irish church.
“I started taking drugs when I was 13. I was 16 when my dad was sent to prison and my family fell apart. After that, I spent most of my time looking after my younger brother and sister while my mother worked two jobs.”
Collins got into Scientology in the year 2000 and she says it helped her.
“I did a lot of traveling, lived in many different countries and saw a lot of life. But I was carrying my emotional and spiritual baggage no matter where I went,” she says on the group’s website.
“While walking down the street in Sydney, Australia, I saw a sign for a free personality test. I stopped in and asked if I could take it. You can imagine what the results looked like. I took a couple of Scientology courses before I moved on. Nine months later it occurred to me how much better I was doing when I was studying Scientology. I moved to Dublin, went into the Church of Scientology Mission there and joined staff. That was the best thing I’ve ever done.”
It was at the Mission that she met and married husband Ger in 2002. Daughter Navarra, whom she describes as a “trouble-free child,” was born within the year.
“I am so much happier now than before. I have a lot of confidence. I can talk the leg off a donkey—I was very shy before. I used to get sick a lot, now I don’t. And I don’t have to worry about things,” she says.
Zabrina also has her own successful business and says she would never have had the self-confidence to do that before Scientology.
“I used to get very depressed, almost all the time,” Collins says. That never happens anymore. And I can help people, actually help them. That’s the best of all.”
The Co Donegal woman also backs “silent births” which are mandatory for the cult.