As Pope Benedict XVI marked Good Friday, the ceremonies of the most important Christian holy festival continued to be overshadowed by the widespread allegations of sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Church.

Many prominent members of the inner sanctum of the Vatican have sought to find the right words to cope with the fallout caused by the scandal.

One prominent cardinal rejected what he called "ignoble and false" allegations that Pope Benedict, as archbishop of Munich and later as the Vatican's chief moral guardian, had helped to protect priests who had sexually abused children.

Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, former archbishop of Milan in Italy said, "It is clear to all that (the pope) is above reproach," and went on to praise Benedict's "sense of duty and his wish to do good."

Church has failed victims

The head of the German Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, had candidly admitted on Friday that the church, as an institution, had failed to handle the sex abuse scandal adequately, and that, in the past, too little had been done to help victims of the abuse.

But, he continued, he hoped Good Friday and the Easter celebrations would turn the page on a new chapter for the Catholic Church.

However, further trouble soon arose from within the Vatican, itself.

At a Good Friday service in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, with the pope in attendance, a Vatican priest delivered a sermon in which he compared criticism of the Catholic Church to anti-Semitism.

"Church criticism similar to anti-Semitism"

Father Raniero Cantalamessa, the pope's personal priest, used his homily to read out a letter from a "Jewish friend" expressing the opinion that the way the Church was being pilloried by "collective blame" was similar to aspects of anti-Semitism.

The ill-judged comparison has been seized upon by various international groups, clearly angering many people.

David Clohessy head of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), the largest such support group in the United States, said, "It's heartbreaking to see yet another high-ranking Vatican official making such callous remarks that insult both abuse victims and Jewish people,"

"Shame on Father Cantalamessa," said Elan Steinberg, vice-president of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants.

"The Vatican is entitled to defend itself, but the comparison with anti-Semitic persecution is offensive and unsustainable. We are sorely disappointed," he continued.

Not official Vatican opinion

The Vatican quickly tried to distance itself from the unfortunate comparison.

Spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said: "This should not be interpreted as an official position of the Vatican."

But, some Jewish groups are insisting on a personal apology from the pope for the words delivered by the priest.

"These hurtful remarks were made in the presence of the pope and the pope himself should take responsibility and apologise for them," said Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the international Jewish human rights group.

It now seems unlikely that the shadow of shame hanging over the Catholic Church will clear by the end of this year's Easter celebrations.

td/ap/AFP/Reuters

Editor: Rick Demarest