ROME  As his fifth anniversary approached, Pope Benedict XVI had been building on a legacy of a scholarly man who tenderly urged people to look to the moral teachings of Jesus Christ to answer the dilemmas of modern life, be they political or personal.

Although his predecessor John Paul II traveled the globe often to meet millions of adoring Catholics, Benedict has been content to remain close to home and out of the limelight.

But today, five years to the day of the death of his charismatic predecessor, Benedict faces a sex scandal that some Vatican observers say threatens to overwhelm his accomplishments.

HOLY THURSDAY: Vatican slams media amid scandal

Emma Fattorini, an author specializing in church topics and a historian with Rome's Sapienza University, said it would be unfair if that happened.

"These scandals could become a defining set of events, that really is a risk, but I hope that does not happen," Fattorini said. "These problems are bigger than the church and if they became central they would obscure so much good."

In recent weeks, a series of sexual abuse and pedophilia accusations have emerged, two of which accuse the church's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a Vatican office that decides whether priests should be tried and defrocked, of ignoring abuse allegations against some priests. Benedict, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was head of the office from 1981 to 2005.

There is no evidence that Benedict was involved in the decisions in the cases raised, and up until recently, he had been praised by U.S. bishops for moving against cases of abuse by priests. Cardinals across Europe used their Holy Thursday sermons to defend Benedict.

Vienna's Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, speaking of Benedict's long years as head of a Vatican office that investigates abuse, said the future pope "had a very clear line of not covering up but clearing up."

Many think Benedict, who turns 83 this month and celebrates his anniversary April 19, must confront the matter.

"Much of what the Holy Father has accomplished so far, things like his encyclicals on love and hope, explorations into the relation between faith and reason ... the reinstatement of the Latin Mass, these things are too esoteric for the general public to absorb and understand," said Alistair Sear, a London-based church historian. "But scandals like these resonate."

Fattorini said part of the problem is that Benedict lacks the charisma of John Paul, whose famous mea culpa — carried out against Cardinal Ratzinger's advice — helped the Catholic Church seek forgiveness for wrongs committed during the Crusades, the Inquisition and against Jews in during the Catholic Church's 2,000-year history.

Sexual abuse and pedophilia may be harder to confront in that manner, observers say.

"What the pontiff needs is a passionate and sincere mea culpa so that the church can express regret for what happened and it can promise to take steps to prevent it from happening again," said Giovannu Avena, the editorial director of Adista, a liberal journal covering church events. "But I don't think he can or has a desire to do it."

Fattorini agreed.

"Benedict's greatest liability is that he is not a great communicator in the mold of John Paul II or John XXIII," she said.

Maria Rossi, co-director of the Rome polling firm Opinioni, said the recent coverage of the abuse cases may even be affecting the devout.

"When it comes to church matters, the general public is increasingly cynical and difficult to surprise with these things, and polls reflect that," Rossi said. "Where the problems are greatest is with the faithful, people who regularly pray and go to Mass. In that group, you can see an erosion of support in recent months."

Antonella Castelli, a 39-year-old Roman nurse who took her two young daughters to St. Peter's Square to explain Easter to them, said the scandals have not shaken her faith.

"I think that each time something like this comes out I turn away from the church a little," she said. "But I don't turn away from God. I think my relationship with God has become more personal and less dependent on the church and church traditions."

Michael Murphy, a 51-year-old Toronto travel agent in Rome as a religious tourist, said the pope is human just like anyone.

"We're all human and that means we have flaws, whether it's me, my parish priest, or the bishop or the pope," Murphy said during a visit to St. Peter's. "I learned that we should only expect perfection from God, and I think we'll be disappointed whenever we look for it elsewhere."