ROME
Sky News
US cardinals in Rome have abruptly cancelled media briefings in a victory for pre-conclave secrecy as workers readied the Sistine Chapel for a historic ceremony to elect the next Pope after Benedict XVI’s resignation.
‘Concern was expressed about leaks of confidential proceedings reported in Italian newspapers. As a precaution, the cardinals have agreed not to do interviews,’ Sister Mary Ann Walsh, US Conference of Catholic Bishops spokeswoman, said in a statement.
US cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, and Francis George, the archbishop of Chicago, had been due to address journalists at the Pontifical North American College in Rome as part of a series of congenial briefings which have drawn crowds of journalists.
Italian media earlier on Wednesday reported there were ‘sparks’ flying at pre-conclave meetings between US and German cardinals, keen to have longer discussions ahead of the conclave, and Italian ones pushing for a papal election as quickly as possible.
The Vatican denied it had intervened directly to censor the electors, with spokesman Federico Lombardi saying: ‘It seems natural that the path towards the conclave lead progressively to greater reflection and discretion.’
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.