DESPICABLE

Germany’s Catholic Church Admits Over 1,670 Clergy Involved in Child Sex Abuse

At least 3,766 victims, according to leaked report.

The Catholic Church child sex-abuse scandal is widening. A leaked report from Germany’s Catholic Church admits to “at least” 3,766 cases of child sex-abuse between 1946 and 2014, with at least 1,670 members of the clergy involved. The report, which was commissioned by the German Bishops’ Conference, will be released in full on Sept. 25, but copies were leaked to Die Zeit and Spiegel Online. The study says the victims were mostly boys, with more than half age 13 or younger at the time they were abused. “We know the extent of the sexual abuse that has been demonstrated by the study. We are dismayed and ashamed by it,” Bishop Stephan Ackermann said, responding to the leak. On Wednesday, Pope Francis called for an unprecedented meeting of top Catholic officials to discuss the escalating abuse scandal.