Criticisms of Pope Benedict's handling of the clerical child sex abuse issue in the Catholic Church have been described as "totally misleading" by the former apostolic administrator to Ferns diocese, Bishop Eamonn Walsh.
"They do not reflect the reality on the ground . . . no stone is left unturned," he said.
Rome had been "so co-operative" and "so helpful" in dealing with the issue.
"That was my own personal experience," he said.
The pope, Bishop Walsh added, was "doing everything possible to ensure the church is safe for young people."
He also said the pope had commented that he found it hard to understand "how a priest can celebrate Mass and then abuse a child". Bishop Walsh, who is now an auxiliary bishop of Dublin, was speaking in Rome yesterday, where he is taking part in the Irish Bishops' Conference ad limina visit which ends today.
He met Pope Benedict on Thursday with the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin and Bishop Ray Field, also an auxiliary bishop of Dublin.
Bishop Walsh said Pope Benedict thanked him personally for the work he had done in Ferns diocese where he was apostolic administrator for four years, from the resignation of the former bishop there, Dr Brendan Comiskey in April 2002, until the installation of the new Bishop of Ferns, Dr Denis Brennan, last April.
He said he in turn thanked Pope Benedict for "his wonderful co-operation" as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the pope was until his election last year.
"I couldn't have done what I did without that co-operation," Bishop Walsh said.
He said the pope did whatever had to be done to ensure the protection of children would not be hampered by any problems.
He rejected any suggestion of Rome's complicity in cover-ups of clerical child sex abuse cases. "That is not my perception," he said.
Meanwhile, the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said yesterday that he hoped Pope Benedict's remarks on Thursday would be of considerable help to victims of clerical child sex abuse in Ferns diocese and their families.
The pope expressed his "personal anguish and horror" at what happened in the diocese over a 40-year period from the early 1960s onwards.
Mr Ahern, speaking in Enniscorthy, said the pope's words seemed to be very wholesome.
"Obviously the level of hurt will be something that will remain.
"Hopefully these words will be of some considerable help, if not total help," he said.
The Government, like the pope, had been "shocked" by the findings of the Ferns inquiry report, he said.
"We always looked at it as a very important inquiry. At the time the Government accepted all the recommendations of the report and these are now being implemented."
Mr Ahern said that he had been in communication with Minister of State for Children Brian Lenihan in relation to child safety and that an amendment would shortly be brought forward to strengthen the powers of the Health Service Executive where necessary.
The Taoiseach was in Enniscorthy as part of a constituency tour of Co Wexford.
