Archbishop of Vienna accuses one of Pope Benedict XVI’s closest aides of sex abuse cover-up

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Cardinal Schönborn accused the former Vatican Secretary of State of having blocked investigations into abuse (AP)

Open warfare broke out in the Vatican over the clerical sex abuse scandal at the weekend as Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the Archbishop of Vienna, accused one of Pope Benedict XVI’s closest aides of covering up past scandals.

Cardinal Schönborn, 65, seen as a possible future Pope, accused Cardinal Angelo Sodano, 82, the former Vatican Secretary of State (Prime Minister), of having blocked investigations into sex abuse crimes committed by his predecessor in Vienna, the late Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer.

Cardinal Schönborn, a former theology pupil of Pope Benedict and a close ally, also charged Cardinal Sodano with causing “massive harm” to victims by dismissing claims of clerical abuse as “petty gossip” on Easter Sunday.

Read moreArchbishop of Vienna accuses one of Pope Benedict XVI’s closest aides of sex abuse cover-up