Latest revelation deals bitter blow to Vatican

THE new allegation that the future Pope Benedict resisted attempts to defrock an American priest with a record of sexual assaults against children will come as a bitter blow to those many Catholics who have sprung to his defence in recent weeks.

The Vatican's insistence that, as Cardinal Ratzinger, he played no part in blocking the removal of paedophile priests is beginning to ring very hollow with the emergence of a letter signed by him in 1985 in which he expressed concern for the good of the Church over moves to remove Father Stephen Kiesele from the priesthood.

Kiesele had been convicted of molesting two boys in 1978, yet it took until 1981 and the completion of his three-year probation sentence for his removal to be recommended by his diocese. He was defrocked in 1987.

As the Vatican – and Cardinal Ratzinger – wrestled with his case, he was allowed to return to work with children. He subsequently admitted molesting many children while a priest and is now a registered sex offender, having served six years in jail for assaulting a young girl.

That the Vatican has so far refused to comment on the latest revelations should come as no surprise, especially after Cardinal Angelo Sodano's Easter Sunday eulogy dismissed such devastating allegations as "petty gossip of the moment".

The Pope may well be regarded by the devout as infallible, but as Cardinal Ratzinger he most definitely was not.