Tom Cruise and his fiancee, Katie Holmes are going to kiss each other. (File photo)

¡¡  BEIJING, April 17 -- U.S. actor Tom Cruise said his Catholic-born fiancee, actress Katie Holmes, has joined him as a follower of the Church of Scientology but insisted that it doesn't mean she can't make noise when she gives birth to their child.

    Cruise, 43, addressed questions about the religious faith of his pregnant bride-to-be, the child they are expecting and Scientology's practice of "silent birth" in an ABC News television interview Friday.

    Cruise suggested Scientology's doctrine of "silent birth," emphasizing a calm, quiet atmosphere in the delivery room, free from screaming and shouts of "push," was misunderstood and exaggerated by the media.

    "It's basically just respecting the mother, you know, and helping to be quiet. (But) not the mother. The mother makes as much noise ... you know, she's going through it. She does what she's going to do."

    Contrary to perceptions that Scientology frowns on giving painkillers to women in labor, Cruise added: "We're there, you know, with doctors ... Whatever the woman wants ... If she needs an epidural, she's going to get her epidural."

    He denied a tabloid report that he had bought an adult pacifier to muffle the moans of his 27-year-old fiancee.

    Asked whether their baby would be given a Catholic baptism, Cruise said, "No," then added: "I mean you can be Catholic and be a Scientologist. You can be Jewish and be a Scientologist. But we're just Scientologists."

    It was the first public acknowledgment from the couple that Holmes has joined Cruise, one of Scientology's most prominent adherents, in embracing a faith founded by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard.

    Cruise denied media accounts of tension with Holmes' parents, who are devout Catholics, over her association with Scientology. "They're OK with her being a Scientologist even if they're Catholic."

    The couple have yet to set a wedding date, but Cruise said they were looking to tie the knot sometime late summer and early fall.

(Source: Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)