Papal Allies Cite 'Ignoble Attempt' to Attack Pope Benedict XVI

ROME, March 25, 2010— -- The Vatican fought back today in the face of headlines and protests assailing Pope Benedict XVI's handling of sex scandals involving Catholic priests, calling the accusations a "conspiracy."

The Catholic Church's simmering sex scandal has heated up to a full boil in recent months as it spread to Ireland and the pope's native Germany.

The growing outrage was fueled by accusations today that before he was the pope, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger declined to punish a Wisconsin priest who admitted molesting 200 deaf boys at a special school because the priest was elderly, sick and said he had repented.

One of the pope's top aides, Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, lashed out at the accusations.

"This is a pretext for attacking the church," the cardinal told a breakfast meeting with reporters, according to Reuters. "There is a well-organized plan with a very clear aim."

He did not state the aim of the "conspiracy."

Although the church has adopted a policy of zero tolerance for sexual abuse by priests, Saraiva Martins said he could understand why bishops covered up incidences of child abuse by their priests.

"We should not be too scandalized if some bishops knew about it but kept it secret," he said. "This is what happens in every family. You don't wash your dirty laundry in public."

The cardinal blamed the burgeoning number of scandals on lawyers "wanting to make a lot of money."

An editorial in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano also chided the pope's critics, saying the latest accusations are "clearly an ignoble attempt to strike at Pope Benedict and his closest aides at any cost."

Outside the Vatican, an American group calling itself Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests demonstrated and called for accountability of priests who sexually abused children and the bishops who helped cover up their activities.

Inside the Vatican, however, the pope met with children in preparation for World Youth Day.