BERLIN — A leading German magazine says a report on sexual abuse inside the Catholic Church in Germany details 3,677 abuse cases by Catholic clergy between 1946 and 2014.
Spiegel Online wrote Wednesday the report it obtained — commissioned by the German Bishops Conference and researched by three universities — concludes that more than half of the victims were 13 or younger and most were boys. Every sixth case involved rape and at least 1,670 clergy were involved.
The German Bishops Conference had no immediate comment but said it was preparing a response.
The Catholic Church has been struggling with sex abuse by its clergy for decades. An investigation earlier this year in the United States found rampant sexual abuse of more than 1,000 children by about 300 Catholic priests in Pennsylvania.