POPE BENEDICT XVI kept mum on paedophile priest scandals rocking the Roman Catholic Church during his Easter Mass yesterday, as Christians across the world marked the resurrection of Christ.

The head of the German Bishops Conference apologised today for incidents of sexual abuse by a Roman Catholic priest two decades ago in the Freiburg diocese.

The Pope was today urged to make a public apology for the church’s years of covering up sexual abuse.

Germany’s sex abuse scandal has now reached Pope Benedict XVI: His former archdiocese disclosed that while he was archbishop a suspected paedophile priest was transferred to a job where he later abused children.

THE head of Germany’s Catholic Church apologised to victims of child abuse by priests and said after meeting Pope Benedict yesterday the pontiff had encouraged him to press ahead with tough new measures.

THE Pope’s brother admitted yesterday that he slapped pupils across the face after he took over a renowned German boys’ choir in the 1960s and was aware of allegations of physical abuse at an elementary school linked to the choir, but did nothing about it.