Child abuse in the Roman Catholic church was allowed to continue as files documenting child sexual abuse were destroyed, a conference was told in February.
Cardinal Reinhard Marx said that procedures to prosecute offenders were ‘deliberately not complied with’. The unprecedented four-day summit brought together 190 bishops from across the world.
Growing pressure
The Catholic Church has faced growing pressure amid long-running cases of sexual abuse of children and young men, with victims accusing it of failing to tackle the issue.
