Pope: Abuse coverage ‘petty gossip’

Pope Benedict XVI has told thousands gathered for prayers on Palm Sunday that the church will not be “intimidated” by the media, as the paedophilia scandal plaguing the Vatican continues.

In a service that marks the last days of the life of Jesus Christ at St Peter’s Square, the leader of the world’s Roman Catholics said the church would not be harmed by media coverage of the child sex abuse scandal, coverage which he described as “petty gossip”.

Al Jazeera’s Tim Friend reports.