HAS Pope Francis fudged his response to the first real test of his papacy? Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, Bishop of Limburg — dubbed the “Bishop of Bling” by the German media — appears to have got off lightly after splurging €31m on a luxurious new home.

A conservative religious order that enjoyed the favour of Pope John Paul II has apologised to victims of sexual abuse by its founder.

The pope was kept more closely informed of a German priest’s abuse case than previous church statements have suggested, the New York Times claimed today.

A priest convicted of sexually abusing children while the pope was archbishop of his diocese has been suspended from his pastoral duties for breaking a promise not to work with youths again.

The Vatican today denounced what it called aggressive attempts to drag Pope Benedict XVI into the spreading scandals of paedophile priests in his German homeland, and contended he had long confronted abuse cases with courage.