Criticism of the Catholic Church Equals Anti-Semitism?

That's the latest line from the Vatican in its attempt to portray the church as some sort of victim.

Attacks on Pope Benedict and the Catholic Church over a sexual abuse scandal are comparable to the most shameful anti-Semitism, said a letter read by a preacher at a Vatican Good Friday service attended by the pontiff.

Last I checked, there isn't a worldwide Jewish church with decades of sexual abuse scandals involving rabbis in multiple countries. And the non-existent worldwide Jewish church didn't respond to those abuses by ignoring or concealing crimes, and by transferring offending rabbis to new locations. I don't seem to remember the Jews running entire parochial school systems where abuse of children was endemic.

the Vatican has accused the media of an "ignoble" attempt to smear the pope at all costs.

That's right, blame the media. Apparently its "ignoble" to ask legitimate questions and expect some responsibility from the head of a huge organization caught up in major scandals of its own making. Regardless of what the Catholic Church seems to think, the pope isn't and shouldn't be immune from criticism, including questions about his personal actions or lack thereof.

If I were a Catholic, I would be embarrassed and appalled by the church. Not only does it bear responsibility for permitting years of abuse to go unchecked, but rather than taking ownership of its problems, and focusing on cleaning up its mess, the church hierarchy prefers to attack its critics with ridiculous analogies to anti-Semitism. And it takes quite a bit of gall to bring up anti-Semitism, when your organization was one of its leading promoters for centuries.