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	Report: Church Abuse Claims Are 'Zionist Attack', Bishop Says By Haaretz Service Haaretz April 12, 2010 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1162432.html A retired Italian bishop has sparked a furious row after quotes attributed to him suggested claims of sexual abuse in the Catholic church are a Jewish conspiracy, a British newspaper reported on Monday. A website quoted Giacomo Babini, emeritus bishop of Grosseto, as saying he believed a "Zionist attack" was behind the criticism, considering how "powerful and refined" the criticism is, the Guardian daily reported. Babini has denied the comments, which follow a series of statements from Catholic churchmen alleging the existence of plots to weaken the church and Pope Benedict XVI. Allegedly speaking to the Catholic website Pontifex, the 81-year-old was quoted as saying: "They do not want the church, they are its natural enemies. Deep down, historically speaking, the Jews are God killers." Italy's Bishops' Conference rushed out a statement quoting Babini denying he had given the interview in the first place. "Statements I have never made about our Jewish brothers have been attributed to me," he said. Babini has previously been quoted on the Pontifex website accusing Jews of exploiting the Holocaust, as well as criticising homosexuality. The American Jewish Committee, which spotted the interview on Friday, said Babini was using "slanderous stereotypes, which sadly evoke the worst Christian and Nazi propaganda prior to world war two". Pope Benedict has come under increasing pressure over his handling of a series of cases involving proven molesters before he became pope in 2005 - most recently in California, where his signature appears on an 1985 letter opposing calls to defrock a pedophile priest.
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