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	Catholics Urged to Pray for Pope in Sex-Abuse Row Stand by Pontiff, Archbishop Urges Press and Journal April 6, 2010 http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1677562?UserKey= CATHOLICS have been urged by one of the most senior clergymen in England and Wales to pray for Pope Benedict in the face of attacks over his record on handling clerical sex abuse cases. The Most Rev Bernard Longley, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham, said the Pope had been subject to some "intense and unjustified" criticism. He told a congregation at the traditional Easter Monday "Men's Mass" at St Chad's Cathedral in Birmingham yesterday that Catholics should pray for the Pope and "stand by" him as he witnesses to the "truth" and "healing" of Christ. "People's perceptions of the Catholic Church are, of course, influenced by what they have been reading and hearing in the news," he said. "Pope Benedict XVI has expressed the sadness and shame that the whole Church feels at the abuse of young and vulnerable people by those entrusted within the Church itself with their well-being and formation." He added: "In witnessing to the risen Lord we must find new ways of serving those who have suffered – not least by helping to restore their confidence in Christ's love for them and in the Catholic Church's genuine concern for their healing and well-being." Archbishop Longley's remarks came at the end of a Holy Week, and Easter, in which the Vatican, and the Pope personally, have faced accusations of failing to protect children from abusive priests. Catholic archbishops marked Easter Sunday with a series of apologies as they admitted the Church's "guilt" and "shame" over the sex abuse scandal. In Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, head of the Catholic Church, admitted his own responsibility for taking part in the culture of cover-up. It emerged last month that Cardinal Brady was present when children signed vows of silence over allegations against a paedophile priest in 1975. Protesters At Dublin's Pro Cathedral, a small group of angry protesters briefly interrupted the service by placing children's shoes at the altar to represent the child victims. At the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI made no mention of the accusations which have rocked the Church. Pressure has been mounting on the Catholic Church since two harrowing reports were published in Ireland last year, revealing that the Church and the Irish Government covered up decades of sexual abuse and beatings by priests and nuns.
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