A top Vatican official has harshly criticized The New York Times for its recent coverage of the growing Catholic church sex scandal in Europe, according to CNN.

“Cardinal William Levada, an American who heads the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said the newspaper 'lacks fairness' when it accuses the pope of 'leniency and inaction' in dealing with abuse cases,” CNN.com reported.

“I ask the Times to reconsider its attack mode about Pope Benedict XVI and give the world a more balanced view of a leader it can and should count on,” Levada wrote in an article dated March 26 but posted by the Vatican online Wednesday, according to CNN..