VATICAN CITY — The Vatican heatedly defended Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday, claiming accusations that he helped cover up the actions of pedophile priests are part of an anti-Catholic ‘hate’ campaign targeting the pope for his opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage. Vatican Radio broadcast comments by two senior cardinals explaining ‘the motive for these attacks’ on the pope. ‘The pope defends life and the family, based on marriage between a man and a woman, in a world in which powerful lobbies would like to impose a completely different’ agenda, Spanish Cardinal Julian Herranz, head of the disciplinary commission for Holy See officials, was quoted as saying. Herranz didn’t identify the alleged lobbies, but ‘defense of life’ is Vatican shorthand for anti-abortion efforts. Also rallying to Benedict’s side was Italian Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, who heads the Vatican City State’s governing apparatus. The pope ‘has done all that he could have’ against sex abuse by clergy of minors, Lajolo said on the radio, decrying what he described as a campaign of ‘hatred against the Catholic church.’ Sex abuse allegations, as well as accusations of cover-ups by diocesan bishops and Vatican […]