‘Massive child sex abuse in French Catholic Church’

Pope expresses ‘great pain over the appalling findings’

French Catholic clergy sexually abused around 2,16,000 minors spanning seven decades since 1950, a “massive phenomenon” that was covered up by a “veil of silence”, an independent commission said on Tuesday.

The commission's two-and-a-half-year inquiry and 2,500-page report prompted outrage as the Catholic Church in France and around the world faces a growing number of abuse claims and prosecutions.

Pope Francis expressed “great pain” over the “appalling” findings, a Vatican spokesman said, adding: “His thoughts turn first to the victims, with great sorrow for their wounds and gratitude for their courage in speaking out.” The report found that the “vast majority” of victims were pre-adolescent boys from a variety of social backgrounds. Their abusers were mainly priests, bishops, deacons and monks. When claims against lay members of the Church, such as teachers at Catholic schools are included, the number of child abuse victims climbs to 3,30,000 since 1950, the report found.