Is the Pope Getting a Bad Rap?

In the face of growing anger, bishops across the world have lined up to assure parishioners, and the wider public, that the abuse scandal is their problem - not the Vatican's. Much of the current criticism has been directed at Pope Benedict XVI.

The New York Times recently reported that while a cardinal, the future Pope and other Vatican officials failed to punish a Wisconsin priest who may have molested as many as 200 deaf boys. The then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, failed to answer correspondence from Milwaukee's archbishop at the time, the Times reported.

Do you think the criticism is justified or a case of piling on?