A senior Roman Catholic Cardinal has said that files documenting child sexual abuse were destroyed, allowing offences to continue.
German Cardinal Reinhard Marx told a conference on pedophilia in the Church that procedures to prosecute offenders "were deliberately not complied with".
The unprecedented four‑day summit has brought together 190 bishops from across the world.
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.
He urged greater transparency in the Catholic Church's response to the issue, adding:
Cardinal Marx ‑ who is one of nine advisers to the pope, known as the C9 ‑ met survivors of abuse and members of the global organisation Ending Clergy Abuse.
Hundreds of victims have protested outside the Vatican, calling for justice and zero tolerance over the issue.
The conference was called for by Pope Francis, who earlier this month admitted that abuse of nuns by members of the clergy had included sexual slavery.
[Source: BBC]
