VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Conservative Catholic university students rushed to Pope Benedict’s defense on Wednesday, attacking journalists who have written about the sexual abuse of children by priests as “sowers of mistrust.”

The some 4,000 students from around the world, in Rome for a convention, handed the beleaguered pope a letter of support during his weekly general audience in St Peter’s Square.

In his address, the pope made no direct reference to the scandal sweeping the church but said priests should always send a message of “hope, reconciliation and peace.”

The university students, from the conservative Catholic group Opus Dei, handed Benedict a letter that read: “We notice that many have taken advantage of some episodes that are painful for the Church and the pope to spread doubts and suspicion.

“To these sowers of mistrust we wish to say with clarity that we do not accept their ideology ... we demand from them respect for our faith and the recognition of the right that we have to live as Christians in a plural society.”

Catholics’ reactions to the abuse scandal have been mixed. A Forsa survey for Stern magazine showed 19 percent of Germany’s estimated 25 million Catholics were thinking about leaving the church because of the issue.

The Vatican has attacked the media for what it called an “ignoble attempt” to smear the pope and his top advisers.

It has denied any cover-up in the abuse of 200 deaf boys in the United States by Reverend Lawrence Murphy from the 1950s to the 1960s. The New York Times reported that the Vatican and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict, were warned about Murphy but he was not defrocked.

The Vatican has denied reports that the pope, while archbishop of Munich in 1980, was involved in a decision by a subordinate to allow a priest undergoing therapy after committing sexual abuse to later return to pastoral duties.

In a statement issued late on Wednesday, the Times said its reports were “based on meticulous reporting and documents.”

“Some of the particulars were confirmed by the Church, and so far no one has cast doubt on the facts we reported,” said the Times in the statement issued by spokeswoman Diane McNulty.

“The allegations of abuse within the Catholic Church are a serious subject, as the Vatican has acknowledged on many occasions. Any role the current pope may have played in responding to those allegations over the years is a significant aspect of this story,” the newspaper said.

SCANDAL DIVIDES CHURCH

There is anticipation at the Vatican that the pope may speak about the abuse scandal directly in the next few days.

Pilgrims leaving St Peter’s Square after Wednesday’s audience were divided.

“My belief in God is not as good as it was ... I must really confess I am disappointed by the Catholic Church,” an Austrian teacher who declined to give her name told Reuters Television.

Bo Ostria from Sweden said: “Yeah I believe in God. It’s still strong, it doesn’t matter what people do.”

In the pope’s native Germany, the church has opened a hotline for victims of child abuse. More than 250 Catholics in Germany have registered alleged abuse cases, most of them at Catholic boarding schools decades ago.