Press digest

The following are the top story on the Maltese and overseas press today.

The Times says the police are seeking a ban of the drug Meow Meow, which has appeared in Malta after appearing in the UK.

The Malta Independent leads with the nation-wide power cut. It also reports on the CERN big-bang experiments.

In-Nazzjon says the power outage was caused by a fault at Delimara power station. The newspaper says the fault affected Good Friday processions. It also reports that Easter tourism this year is better than last year's.

l-orizzont says Malta suffered its second blackout in 11 days after a fault which started in Delimara. The newspaper wonders what will happen in summer, when power demand is at its highest.

The overseas press

Cases of alleged clerical sexual abuse dominate the world press this Holy Saturday morning with the latest furore provoked by none other that Pope Benedict XVI's personal preacher Fr Raniero Cantalamessa, who compared criticism of the pontiff and the Catholic Church over child sexual abuse to "collective violence" suffered by the Jews.

Avvenire says that during a Good Friday service, attended by the Pope, Fr Cantalamessa said Jews throughout history had been the victims of "collective violence" and drew a comparison with recent attacks on the church. The Vatican has said the guilt of individuals who committed crimes, however heinous, cannot be shifted to the Pope or the entire Church.

But Fr Cantalamessa's comments have angered Jewish groups and those representing abuse victims. The BBC quotes Stephan Kramer, general-secretary of Germany's Central Council of Jews, describing the remarks as offensive and repulsive while Peter Isely, spokesman for the US victim support group Snap, said the sermon had been "reckless and irresponsible".

Il Tempo says the Vatican quickly tried to distance itself from the unfortunate comparison. Spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi said Cantalamessa's comments should not be interpreted as an official position of the Vatican. But Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the international Jewish human rights group, insisted on a personal apology from the Pope for the words delivered by the Francescan.

Cardinals across Europe used their Holy Week sermons to defend the Pope. Deutsche Welle says the head of Germany's Catholic bishops Robert Zollitsch denounced past failures and mistakes in the church's handling of abuse cases. The dean of the German bishops' conference said news about sexual and physical abuse of children by priests and other employees leaves the church with "sadness, horror and shame".

According to The Times, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland has lost all credibility because of the child abuse scandal. Meanwhile, The Irish Examiner quotes the Primate of All Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, saying the church needs to seriously consider the way its authorities dealt with clerical sex abuse. He also reiterated his acceptance that the country's bishops failed, sometimes grievously, in their response to the crime of child abuse.

In an interview with Il Giornale, Italian Justice Minister Angelino Alfano has asked his office to investigate potentially defamatory comments by Pietro Forno, the prosecutor who heads Milan's sex crimes investigative squad. Forno allegedly accused bishops of covering up instances of child sexual abuse carried out by Catholic priests. Forno said that Milan's bishops had never filed a report regarding sexual child abuse committed by priests.

Belgrade's Kurir says the Serbian patriarch Irinej, leader of some 10 million Serbs worldwide, has issued an Easter message appealing to Serb Orthodox Christians to preserve peace and unity and to pray for Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia two years ago. Serbia opposes Kosovo independence which has been recognised by 65 countries, including the United States and 22 members of the European Union.

Al Jazeera quotes Hamas' prime minister Ismail Haniyeh calling for international action to stop fresh Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip. Haniyeh's comments came hours after Israel launched up to 13 airstrikes on targets in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in response to rocket attacks on Israeli territory. Israel's deputy prime minister Silvan Shalom has threatened an escalation in Israeli military activity if the rocket fire does not stop.

USA Today reports that an American woman arrested in Ireland in connection with an alleged plot to murder a controversial cartoonist has been charged with terror-related offences in the US. US prosecutors claim Jamie Paulin-Ramirez, 31, travelled to Europe to support violent holy war.

Az-Zaman says Iraqis aligned with radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr have began voting on Friday on who should become the country's leader. A week after results from the country's 7 March parliamentary elections were announced, Allawi's Iraqiya bloc and current prime minister Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law Alliance are each seeking to form a government. The Sadrists could back Maliki.

The Washington Times says the US has announced that it will begin profiling US-bound passengers to determine who should get extra screening. The measures will replace mandatory enhanced screening of all travellers from 14 nations, brought in after the failed attack on a flight in December. Travellers will be picked out according to how closely they match intelligence on potential terrorist threats.

As the release of the RU486 abortion pill provoked bitter opposition from the Catholic Church and key political leaders throughout Italy, the pill's distributor hit back at the critics on Friday. Marco Durini, gynaecologist and medical director at Nordic Pharma, told Adnkronos he was concerned that the political opposition had generated an "emotional climate". Two newly-elected local leaders from the north of Italy condemned the introduction of the abortion pill and vowed to stop it from reaching hospitals.

Variety announces the death John Forsythe, the former Dynasty star and voice of Charlie in the Charlie's Angels TV series and films. He was 92 and died from complications of pneumonia after a year-long battle with cancer. Forsythe played Blake Carrington in the popular US soap from 1981-9, alongside Joan Collins. In an career that began in the 1940s, he also appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's The Trouble With Harry and Topaz.