Six senior cardinals, including two considered strong contenders to be future popes, have been accused by campaigners of covering up sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church.
A bombshell dossier of complaints compiled by groups representing survivors of clerical sex abuse has been handed to Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state and number two to the Pope.
The allegations were made public on Thursday as it emerged that the 88-year-old Pope Francis, who was discharged from hospital on Sunday after five weeks of treatment for double pneumonia and other infections, is still having difficulty talking.
The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (Snap), along with a survivors’ organisation called Nate’s Mission, allege the six cardinals either enabled or concealed sexual abuse committed by Catholic clergy, and called for the Holy See to immediately launch an investigation.
The Vatican did not respond to a request for comment, nor has it publicly addressed the allegations.
Continue reading at the Telegraph