Gagging row: Vatican silences US cardinals

The Vatican was accused of censorship on Wednesday after cardinals were told to stop talking to the media about the process of electing a new pope.

In the past week American cardinals have given several briefings in Rome to discuss the challenges facing the Roman Catholic Church.

The Americans have called for the reform of the Roman Curia, the governing body of the Church, which has earned a reputation as a hotbed of turf wars and corruption.

But the briefings were stopped and the Americans gagged after other cardinals expressed fears of negative publicity relating to the conclave, the secretive election in the Sistine Chapel by which a new pontiff will be chosen.

The American cardinals, through the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, said that concern had been expressed "about leaks of confidential proceedings reported in Italian newspapers". The Vatican denied ordering the American cardinals to cancel the briefings.

The row came as the first photographs emerged of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI enjoying his retirement. He was pictured by Chi magazine strolling with Archbishop Georg Ganswein, his private secretary, in the grounds of Castel Gandolfo near Rome.