Actor Tom Cruise, an outspoken adherent of the Church of Scientology, has lobbied the U.S. ambassador to fight for the group's rights in Germany, where it is not recognized, diplomats say. Cruise was in Germany on a promotional tour for his latest film "Vanilla Sky" with his lover and co-star Penelope Cruz.

Embassy officials said Cruise had met Ambassador Dan Coats, a former U.S. senator, in Berlin for more than an hour last week during which he made a passionate appeal for his support for improving the organization's status in Germany.

The government placed Scientology under official scrutiny in 1997, provoking an outcry among supporters in the United States, including several celebrities. They say Germany's refusal to recognize Scientology undermines their human rights.

In the January issue of the U.S.-based magazine Vanity Fair, Cruise credited his 13-year devotion to Scientology with helping him deal with adversities from dyslexia to his estrangement from his late father to persistent rumors that he is gay. (Adam Tanner Reuters, 1/30/02, Internet)