A senior Vatican-based cardinal has accused Fr Tony Flannery, the founder of the Association of Catholic Priests, of undermining the faith of Catholics.

POPE Benedict XVI has summoned his cardinals to Rome to discuss the Catholic Church’s response to cases of sexual abuse by clergymen, the Vatican said.

POPE BENEDICT XVI sees the priestly sex scandal as a “test for him and the Church,” his spokesman says, as the Pope and his bishops around Europe used Holy Week’s solemn call for penitence to pledge transparency in dealing with the abuse of children.

A SENIOR Vatican figure has defended a decision not to defrock an American priest accused of molesting deaf boys, saying the lengthy trial process would have been “useless” because he was dying.

POPE BENEDICT XVI has created a new church structure for Anglicans who want to join the Catholic Church, responding to the disillusionment of some Anglicans over the ordination of women and the election of openly gay bishops.