Pope Benedict XVI blesses the faithful during his traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the City and the World”) message at the end of mass on Easter Sunday at St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican.

In an unusual address at the mass, a leading cardinal defended the Pope and said the Catholic Church would not be intimidated by “petty gossip” about sexual abuse of children by priests. But in his own address, the Pope did not mention the scandal that has engulfed the Church.  PHOTO: AP