Catholic infighting grows

The Catholic Church in England and Wales issued a rare public rebuttal of the Vatican yesterday following suggestions made by its second-in-command that the sexual abuse of children was linked to homosexuality.

In a sign of tension between the hierarchies over how best to handle public outrage over child abuse, Father Marcus Stock, the general secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference, said research showed that paedophilia was "not a question" of sexual orientation.

His comments followed remarks this week by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the most senior aide to Pope Benedict XVI, claiming that research had clearly linked homosexuality and paedophilia.