Pressure on Italian Catholic church to face child sexual abuse reckoning

Unofficial estimates say country may have highest number of victims of paedophile priests in world

Pressure is mounting on the Catholic church in Italy to face a reckoning on child sexual abuse amid unofficial estimates that the country could have the highest number of victims of paedophile priests in the world.

Damning investigations into the scale of sexual abuse and cover-up allegations have dealt a severe blow to the church's reputation in the US, Ireland, Chile, France and, more recently, Germany. But in Italy the issue has been mostly buried.