Pope seeks immunity over sex abuse suit (The Associated Press, The Sydney Morning Herald) 17 Aug 2005 Lawyers for Pope Benedict XVI asked US President George W. Bush to declare the pontiff immune from liability in a lawsuit that accuses him of conspiring to cover up the molestation of three boys by a seminarian in Texas, court records show.
Pope 'led cover-up of child abuse by priests' (London Evening Standard) 30 Sep 2006 The Pope played a leading role in systematic cover-up of child sex abuse by Roman Catholic priests, according to a shocking documentary screened by BBC. In 2001, he issued a secret Vatican edict to bishops worldwide, instructing them to put the Church's interests ahead of child safety. He recommended that rather than reporting sexual abuse to the relevant legal authorities, bishops should threaten the victims and witnesses if they repeat the allegations with excommunication to keep them quiet.