Cardinals across Europe have used Easter sermons to defend Pope Benedict XVI from accusations he played a role in covering up child sex abuse.
Cardinal Angelo Scola used his Maundy Thursday homily in Venice to praise the pope for seeking to remove all 'dirt' from the priesthood, and condemned the 'deceitful allegations'.
In Warsaw, Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz said the church must treat sex abuse cases seriously, but criticised the media's handling of the scandal for ' targeting the whole church, targeting the Pope, and to that we must say "no" in the name of truth and in the name of justice'.
Vienna's Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, speaking of the many years Benedict spent as head of a Vatican office that investigates abuse, said he 'had a very clear line of not covering up but clearing up'.
The Pope himself celebrated a Mass in St Peter's Basilica in Rome on Thursday. In the afternoon, he washed the feet of 12 priests in a ceremony commemorating Christ's Last Supper with his 12 apostles on the evening before the Crucifixion.
He made no reference to the scandal at either ceremony.
It was claimed last week that Pope Benedict XVI failed to act against an American curate who abused 200 deaf children.
Cardinal Angelo Scola used his Maundy Thursday homily in Venice to praise the pope for seeking to remove all 'dirt' from the priesthood, and condemned the 'deceitful allegations'.
In Warsaw, Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz said the church must treat sex abuse cases seriously, but criticised the media's handling of the scandal for ' targeting the whole church, targeting the Pope, and to that we must say "no" in the name of truth and in the name of justice'.
Vienna's Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, speaking of the many years Benedict spent as head of a Vatican office that investigates abuse, said he 'had a very clear line of not covering up but clearing up'.
The Pope himself celebrated a Mass in St Peter's Basilica in Rome on Thursday. In the afternoon, he washed the feet of 12 priests in a ceremony commemorating Christ's Last Supper with his 12 apostles on the evening before the Crucifixion.
He made no reference to the scandal at either ceremony.
It was claimed last week that Pope Benedict XVI failed to act against an American curate who abused 200 deaf children.