Increased caseloads in Rome include several abuser priests transfered out of Joliet by Bishop Imesch

The pope's comments came in a speech to members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican's orthodoxy watchdog, which also judges cases of priests accused of sexual misconduct.

John Paul told the prelates there has been a ''noteworthy increase'' in their caseloads since the abuse crisis erupted in the United States in January 2002. Dozens of reports emerged of abusive priests who had been moved from parish to parish rather than being punished.

The U.S. Catholic Church has since adopted stricter norms to deal with such cases, and more than 325 of the United States' 46,000 clergy have either resigned or been barred from church work.

Victims groups have accused the church hierarchy of favoring the protection of priests over their victims, criticizing in particular the secret Vatican tribunals where accused priests are judged. But John Paul said church law, if applied fairly, guarantees the accused's right to a proper defense, ''as well as the needs of the common good.''

Once there is evidence of a crime, church authorities must take into account ''the predominant need to protect the people of God,'' he said.

David Clohessy, the national director of the victims group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said the implication that priests weren't already being treated fairly ''should be viewed with great skepticism.''

''The sad reality is that accused priests in our view are still afforded excessive deference, given every conceivable benefit of the doubt, and sadly, some remain in active parish ministry today,'' he said.