Pope Hailed as 'Unfailing' Leader at Easter Mass

Pontiff keeps his silence on sex abuse scandals
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 4, 2010 8:29 AM CDT
Pope Hailed as 'Unfailing' Leader at Easter Mass
Pope Benedict XVI, right, is greeted by Cardinal Angelo Sodano during an Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, April 4, 2010.    (Gregorio Borgia)

A senior cardinal defended Pope Benedict XVI from "petty gossip" today, praising his "unfailing" leadership, even as the pontiff maintained his silence on mounting accusations of sex abuse cover-ups during his Easter message. At the end of the two-hour long ceremony, a weary-looking Benedict delivered the papacy's traditional Easter "Urbi et Orbi" message, analyzing humanity's failings and hopes.

Benedict singled out the "trials and sufferings" of Christians in Iraq, Pakistan, Haiti, and Chile, but despite repeated appeals by victims that he take responsibility for his role in the handling of pedophile priests, he remained silent. Today's Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano denounced the accusations against the pope as a "vile defamation operation." Benedict's personal preacher, however, had to apologize for comparing accusations against him to anti-Semitism that culminated in the Holocaust.
(More Pope Benedict XVI stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X