VATICAN CITY — Cardinals across Europe used their Holy Thursday sermons to defend Pope Benedict XVI from accusations he played a role in covering up sex abuse scandals, and an increasingly angry Vatican sought to deflect any criticism in the Western media.

The relationship between the church and the media has become increasingly bitter as the scandal buffeting the 1 billion-member church has touched the pontiff himself. On Wednesday, the church singled out The New York Times for criticism in an unusually harsh attack.

Additional Photos

Pope Benedict XVI washes the foot of a layman in the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome Thursday. The ceremony symbolizes humility and commemorates Jesus’ last supper with his 12 apostles. The Associated Press

Western news organizations, including The Associated Press, have reported extensively on the burgeoning scandal, and new details have emerged on an almost daily basis.

On Holy Thursday, Benedict first celebrated a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica dedicated to the union between the pope and the world’s priests. In the late afternoon, he washed the feet of 12 priests in a ceremony symbolizing humility and commemorating Christ’s Last Supper with his 12 apostles.

Although there were expectations by some that the pope would address the crisis, Benedict made no reference to the scandal at either ceremony.

Venice’s Cardinal Angelo Scola expressed solidarity with Benedict, describing him as a victim of “deceitful accusations.” .

Warsaw Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz said the church should take notice of individual tragedies and treat sex abuse cases very seriously, but he criticized the media for “targeting the whole church, targeting the pope, and to that we must say ‘no’ in the name of truth and in the name of justice.”

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