Tom Cruise: "Katie Holmes Must Be Quiet, Not Silent"  11/23/05

Tom Cruise has rubbished claims his pregnant fiancée must give birth to their child in silence in accordance with their religion Scientology - she must only remain "quiet".

The Church Of Scientology founder L Ron Hubbard ruled followers must, "Maintain silence in the presence of birth to save both the sanity of the mother and the child and safeguard the home to which they will go."

But Cruise has attempted to appease outraged critics, by insisting the rules are flexible.

He tells US talk show host Barbara Walters on her The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2005 show - which airs in the US next week (29NOV05), "Like anything, you want to be as quiet as possible. There have been misinterpretations that the woman can't make any noise, and that's just not true. It's nutty.

"No, but just calm and quiet. I want Katie to be as comfortable as possible.

And whatever she's gonna go through, she's gonna go through. And I'm gonna be there."