I am appalled to read the recent report that Pope Benedict has cracked down on dissent and good priests such as Tony Flannery and Gerard Moloney.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern yesterday backed a call from the Pope for the institutions of the UN to be renewed to enable it respond better to an adapting world.

Germany’s popular press took a swipe at British counterparts today for their coverage of Pope Benedict XVI’s election, declaring in a banner front-page headline that “the English are insulting our pope!”