Future Pope 'resisted pleas to defrock paedophile priest'

The future Pope Benedict XVI resisted pleas to defrock a US priest with a record of sexually molesting children, citing concerns including “the good of the universal church”, according to a 1985 letter bearing his signature.

The correspondence, obtained by The Associated Press, is the strongest challenge yet to the Vatican’s insistence that Benedict played no role in blocking the removal of paedophile priests during his years as head of the Catholic Church’s doctrinal watchdog office.