Senior cardinal defends Pope Benedict XVI in Easter Sunday Mass 
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I'm with you: Pope Benedict XVI is greeted by Cardinal Angelo Sodano during the celebration of Easter mass at St Peter's square at the Vatican yesterday. Pic/AFP</td></tr></tbody></table>Easter Sunday Mass in St Peter's Square, the Catholic church's most joyous celebration, began with a senior cardinal defending Pope Benedict XVI from what he called "petty gossip" and hailing him for "unfailing" leadership and courage. But the pontiff himself ignored accusations that he perpetuated a climate of cover-up for pedophile priests, even as sex abuse scandals threatened to overshadow his papacy. The ringing tribute by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, at the start of a Mass attended by tens of thousands of faithful, marked an unusual departure from the Vatican's Easter rituals, infusing the religious ceremony with an air of a papal pep rally. The pontiff and many bishops have been assailed by accusations from victims of clergy sexual abuse that Benedict helped shape and perpetuate a climate of cover-up toward the crimes against children in parishes, schools, orphanages and other church-run institutions. Victims and their advocates are demanding that Benedict take personal responsibility. Yet, Sodano insisted, on Easter the faithful came to "rally close around you, successor to (St) Peter, bishop of Rome, the unfailing rock of the holy church" amid the joy of Easter. "Holy Father, on your side are the people of God, who do not allow themselves to be influenced by the petty gossip of the moment, by the trials which sometimes buffet the community of believers," Sodano said. Meanwhile, Pope Benedict XVI used his Easter address to call for mankind to undergo a "spiritual and moral conversion" but avoided any reference to the scandals. Victims angry But the dismissive reference to "petty gossip" incensed some sex abuse victims, who say that the Church has for decades attempted to cover up the scale of the problem. Barbara Blaine, from the US-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said, "Victims are seeking consolation and healing and should not be insulted and told that our speaking out is petty gossip."

Senior cardinal defends Pope Benedict XVI in Easter Sunday Mass

Vatican dismisses 'petty gossip'

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Vatican dismisses 'petty gossip'

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