Criticism of the Roman Catholic Church over paedophilia scandals is similar to anti-Semitism, the Vatican preacher said during Good Friday observance, citing a letter from a Jewish friend.

Father Raniero Cantalamessa, the preacher to the Papal Household at the Vatican, made the comments during the ceremony at St Peter's Basilica as Pope Benedict XVI looked on.

Both Jewish groups and those representing victims of abuse by Catholic priests have denounced the remarks.

"The stereotyping, the transfer of personal responsibility and blame to a collective blame reminds me of the most shameful aspects of anti-Semitism," said Cantalamessa, quoting the letter from his friend.

"I have followed with disgust the violent attack... against the Church (and) the pope," said the letter, read out by Cantalamessa, who by tradition is the only person allowed to preach to the pope.

Speaking on the theme of violence, Cantalamessa said he would not refer to that "inflicted on children, with which a consequential number of clergy have been tarnished (because) it is being discussed enough elsewhere."

Several Catholic prelates have rallied around the pope ahead of the Easter weekend observances.

But the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), the largest and most active of such groups in the United States, denounced the remarks.

"It's heart-breaking to see yet another smart, high-ranking Vatican official making such callous remarks that insult both abuse victims and Jewish people," said executive director David Clohessy in a statement.

"The remarks are shameful, inaccurate and a complete distortion of history," Rabbi Marvin Hier, the founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said in a statement. He demanded an apology from the pope himself.

The child abuse scandal has engulfed much of Europe and the United States, prompting harsh criticism of the Vatican's handling of the scourge.

With new cases being reported almost daily, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the pope's vicar for Rome, told Vatican Radio that it was a "moment of suffering" for the Church.

The pope himself faces allegations that, as archbishop of Munich and later as the Vatican's chief morals enforcer, he helped to protect predator priests.

The head of the Catholic Church in the pope's native Germany, Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, said Good Friday must "mark a new departure which we so badly need."

Zollitsch said the abuse cases filled the hearts of Catholics with "pain, fear, and shame," lamenting that many victims had been "unable to express their pain in words for decades."

Dozens of people have come forward in Germany alleging they were abused as children by priests. Most cases date back years if not decades.

France meanwhile became the latest European country to implicate paedophile priests.

A lawyer for Father Jacques Gaimard, director of a Christian radio station in northern France, said he had admitted sexually assaulting a boy in the early 1990s and saw his arrest as a "deliverance" after years of private torment.

And in another case, a parish priest near the northern city of Rouen, Father Philippe Richir, is suspected of possessing paedophile pornography.

But there was support for the pope in a letter signed by a group of 70 leading French figures Friday, which accused the media of unfair reporting.

It was signed by writers, a philosophy professor, and a Lutheran pastor among others.

Their letter to the pope, published in the Vatican newspaper Osservatore Romano, expressed horror at crimes of paedophilia and solidarity with the victims while "paying homage to the pope's will to shed light on these cases."

It added: "We observe with sadness as Christians and above all as citizens that many media are covering these matters with partiality, a lack of awareness or with lively satisfaction."

An Austrian victim support group said Friday it has received reports of 174 more cases of maltreatment and sexual abuse in Catholic institutions since creating a hotline two weeks ago.

"We are learning daily about the methods of education in Catholic institutions in Austria during the 1960s and 1970s," said Holger Eich, a psychologist from the Platform for Victims of Violence by the Church.

On Saturday, Benedict will hold an Easter vigil in St Peter's Square, where he will also celebrate Easter mass on Sunday to be followed by his "urbi et orbi" (to the city and the world) blessing.