Controversy Precedes Pope On Trip To Middle East

5 Years Into Papacy, Legacy At Stake For Benedict
It's been five years since Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has been elected pope, but the mood at the Vatican is not festive. Pope Benedict XVI is at the center of a mounting scandal over pedophile...

AP EXCLUSIVE: Future pope stalled pedophile case (AP)
AP - The future Pope Benedict XVI resisted pleas to defrock a California priest with a record of sexually molesting children, citing concerns including "the good of the universal church,"...

Pope hailed as 'unfailing' leader at Easter Mass (AP)
AP - Pope Benedict XVI, buffeted by sex abuse scandals, is being hailed as the "unfailing" leader of the church at the start of Easter Mass in St. Peter's Square.

Small coterie advises pope, but decisions his own (AP)
AP - Pope Benedict XVI has surrounded himself with a small group of men he feels he can trust, but he acts very much on his own. That isolation and shunning of advice have frequently created...

AP: Vatican waited years to defrock Arizona priest (AP)
AP - The future Pope Benedict XVI took over the abuse case of an Arizona priest, then let it languish at the Vatican for years despite repeated pleas from the bishop for the man to be removed...