THE INDEPENDENT: Spokesman says Pope knew nothing about reassigning paedophile priest
battle to defend Pope Benedict from the latest child abuse scandal after reports linked him directly to a decision to allow a paedophile priest to take up a pastoral role in his former diocese.
Officials launched their second strident defence of the Pope in two days over separate episodes in Germany and the US as the tide of allegations moved closer to the pontiff himself. Senior Italian politicians also stepped in to defend the Pope over claims that he had failed to act strongly enough against child abuse by the clergy before he took on leadership of the church.
In the latest controversy, The New York Times reported that Benedict, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was kept closely informed of the case of Father Peter Hullerman, who was suspended from his duties in the northern German town of Essen in 1979 after several parents accused him of child sex attacks. >>> Michael Day in Milan | Saturday, March 27, 2010
