Last week on this blog, we relayed a report in the Irish Times that contradicted the common interpretation of Pope Benedict XVI's recently announced decision not to accept the resignations of two Dublin auxiliary bishops as a rebuff to their boss, reformer Archbishop Diarmuid Martin.

Not at all, the Times said, quoting anonymous Vatican sources: "Archbishop Martin has recently had exhaustive discussions on the sex abuse crisis with Pope Benedict, who remains in complete agreement with the manner in which Dr Martin has confronted the Irish church’s tortured and long-running trauma."

There's just one problem. A spokeswoman for the archbishop now tells the Irish Catholic newspaper that Archbishop Martin hasn't talked to the pope since February, when all Ireland's bishops went to Rome to talk about the unfolding crisis with the pontiff.

What's happening here? Multiple sources tell us that the archbishop, who worked at the Vatican for many years, is frequently in Rome. Could it be that someone made the mistaken assumption that meant he has been meeting with the pope?

At the same time, it's hard to imagine that Pope Benedict is displeased with Archbishop Martin's general message and actions; they seem directly out of the pope's own playbook. Yes, he may have denied resignations Archbishop Martin desired, but it would be a mistake to read into that a global rebuff of the archbishop and his policies.

One thing the pope probably isn't happy about is the division in the Irish Church. It's no secret that Archbishop Martin — perhaps unavoidably — has alienated a good number of his priests and fellow bishops, who no doubt have flooded Rome with letters of complaint.