Tom Cruise....

Cruise: 'Holmes Must Be Quiet, Not Silent'

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 talk show host Barbara Walters on her The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2005 show—which airs next week, "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."

As for exchanging vows the couple is planning to wait until their baby is born before they wed in 2006.

Cruise tells Walters that they are planning a wedding ceremony for next summer or early autumn, but they're yet to set a date.

Cruise has also revealed that he has bought his own sonogram machine so he can follow the baby's progress. He plans to donate the high-tech hospital equipment to an undisclosed maternity ward.