Cincy archbishop defends Pope Benedict XVI

CINCINNATI (AP) — The leader of the Cincinnati Archdiocese is challenging claims that Pope Benedict XVI failed to act swiftly against abusive priests.

Cincinnati Archbishop Dennis Schnurr said in a letter sent this week to the region’s half-million Roman Catholics that much of the media coverage of the pope on the issue of clerical abuse has been unfair and inaccurate.

Schnurr joins church officials who have said criticism of the pope has been based on bad information and misunderstandings of how the church hierarchy works.

The pope has been criticized for decisions he may have made decades ago when he was a bishop and later a cardinal.

Schnurr’s letter urged Catholics in the 19-county archdiocese to seek more information from their church, religious publications and the Vatican.