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."
While all cardinals taking part in the pre-conclave meetings are bound to secrecy on pain of excommunication, there had been a growing openness among electors in general about the problems facing the Church and what the future may hold.
Though no date for the conclave has yet been set, preparations got under way at the Sistine Chapel, where builders in hard hats worked under Michelangelo's famous frescoes, laying a false floor and installing two black stoves which will be used to alert the world when a Pope is elected.
The stoves were attached to the Sistine Chapel's chimney: ballots cast by the cardinals will be burned in them on a daily basis once the conclave starts, with black smoke signalling a vote has taken place, while white smoke will tell the world that a new papacy has begun.
The Vatican has said it wants a new Pope in place by Easter, which this year falls on March 31.
Spokesman Federico Lombardi said all of the 115 cardinal electors - cardinals below the age of 80 - should be present in Rome by Thursday, when a decision about the conclave date may come.
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