Pope begs forgiveness for church sex scandal

For the legions of people whose childhoods and adult lives were wrecked by sexual and physical abuse at the hands of the Roman Catholic clergy, Pope Benedict XVI is an unloved pontiff who will not be missed.

The paedophile priest scandals rocking the Roman Catholic Church cast a pall over pre-Easter celebrations Thursday as Pope Benedict XVI avoided direct references to the crisis.Celebrating Maundy Thursday mass at Rome's Saint John in Lateran Basilica, the pontiff commemorated Christ's Last Supper with his disciples by washing the feet of 12 priests representing the apostles in a symbol of humility.Earlier Thursday, the pope made an oblique reference to the scandals as he recalled Jesus preaching to turn the other cheek.

Pope Benedict XVI completed five tumultuous years as pontiff on Monday with the Roman Catholic Church mired in crisis over its handling of paedophile priest scandals.Waves of allegations sweeping the Church in Europe and the Americas were the backdrop to a teary meeting between the pope and abuse victims on Sunday in Malta, one of the latest countries to be hit by sex abuse scandals.

Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged Monday the Roman Catholic Church is in "times of difficulty" but avoided direct comment on sex abuse, as the Vatican faced fresh criticism over the scandal.After a series of paedophile priest revelations which have cast a pall over the holiest week in the Christian calendar, the embattled pontiff spoke of priests' special responsibility to society in an Easter Monday prayer.

An Italian parish priest has caused uproar after burning a photograph of Benedict XVI and likening him to the disgraced captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship during a church service. Fr Andrea Maggi shocked parishioners and was criticised by his local bishop after using a candle to set fire to the image of the former pontiff, who last week became the first pope to step down in nearly 600 years.

Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged the Roman Catholic Church is in "times of difficulty" but avoided direct comment on sex abuse, as the Vatican faced fresh criticism over the scandal.After a series of paedophile revelations which cast a pall over the holiest week in the Christian calendar, the embattled pontiff spoke Monday of priests' special responsibility to society in an Easter Monday prayer.Benedict told hundreds of followers at Castel Gandolfo near Rome that "the loving presence (of Christ) accompanies the Church on its path and supports it in times of difficulty".

Pope Benedict XVI kept mum on paedophile priest scandals rocking the Roman Catholic Church during his Easter mass Sunday as Christians across the world marked the resurrection of Christ.While condemning persecution and lamenting the "suffering" of Christian minorities in Iraq and Pakistan, Benedict failed to mention any abuse by the Church's priests.

The Roman Catholic Church has been "wounded by sin" Pope Benedict XVI said as he flew to Malta on his first foreign trip since having to deal with a wave of priest sex abuse scandals."Malta loves Christ who loves his Church which is his body, even if this body is wounded by our sins," he told journalists in a direct allusion to the scandals.The pope, who turned 83 on Friday, marks the fifth anniversary of his papacy on Monday.But his visit comes amid near-daily reports of child-molesting priests in Europe or the United States.