Actor Tom Cruise admitted in a court deposition that his ex, actress Katie Holmes, left him and filed for divorce in part to protect their daughter, Suri, from Scientology, People magazine reports.

Cruise made the revelation in a deposition as part of his lawsuit against Bauer Publishing. the publisher of In Touch magazine, which Cruise is suing over a cover story alleging that the actor "abandoned" his daughter following the couple’s June 2012 divorce.

The deposition took place Sept. 9 in Los Angeles, with the transcript later filed publicly, the story notes. Cruise’s comments came during questioning by Elizabeth McNamara, a lawyer for Bauer. Cruise is suing Bauer for $50 million.

"In the wide-ranging, often contentious deposition, Cruise’s attorney Bert Fields was on hand as the star was forced to answer questions about everything from his use of private jets to Scientology," People reports. "He revealed that Suri is no longer practicing the religion. Pressed about whether Holmes left him to ‘protect’ Suri from Scientology, Cruise responded, ‘I find that question offensive. … There is no need to protect my daughter from my religion.’

"But asked whether Holmes left him in part for that reason, Cruise said, ‘That was one of the assertions, yes. … There are many other aspects to the divorce.’"

The actor also admitted that he didn’t see his daughter for more than 100 days, "from Aug. 4, 2012, when they wrapped up a weeklong father-daughter vacation to Disney World, until that Thanksgiving," People reports.

Said Cruise: "Unfortunately in this situation it was impossible." Cruise cited the demands of his filming schedule as he was in London to shoot the sci-fi movie "All You Need Is Kill."

"Cruise said he phoned Suri nearly every day, though [he] agreed that phone calls are a poor substitute for seeing a child in person," the People story reports. "Talking to a young child on the phone, ‘you have to work at it. I’ve gotten very good at it. I tell wonderful stories,’ he said. ‘I also find that, you know, Suri is a very happy child, and confident, and has a good sense of herself.’"

Tom Cruise and Suri