Via AFP:

The Vatican on Tuesday brushed off accusations that late pope John Paul II was aware of and ignored allegations about sexual abuse carried by the Mexican founder of a powerful Catholic movement.

"There is no personal implication of the Holy Father in this affair," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told a news conference on Sunday's ceremony to confer sainthood on popes John Paul II and John XXIII.

The scandal over Marcial Maciel, who founded the Legion of Christ and was a serial predator, was one of thousands of cases of sexual abuse by clergymen that began to come to light under Joh...