Britain's Roman Catholic Church betrayed its moral purpose over decades by protecting those who sexually abused children rather than caring for their victims, an independent inquiry has found.

The findings are part of the UK's Independent Inquiry on Child Sexual Abuse, which is examining child abuse across British institutions and society.

This comes as the Vatican has released a long-awaited report into one of the American church's most prominent clerics, ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who rose up the church hierarchy despite having multiple allegations of sexual abuse against adults and children known at the time of his appointments.

In the UK, the inquiry found the Catholic Church — as it did the Church of England — had consistently prioritised its own reputation, moving abusive priests and monks to different parishes where some continued to prey on children, and resisting any external intervention.

"Child sexual abuse was swept under the carpet," the report said, describing "appalling" attacks including sadistic beatings driven by sexual gratification, often perpetrated by deeply manipulative people in positions of trust.

The Catholic Church received more than 900 complaints involving over 3,000 instances of child sex abuse in England and Wales between 1970 and 2015, and there have been more than 100 reported allegations a year since 2016.

The report said actual figures are likely to be far higher.

The Catholic Church 'has failed'

Lawyer David Enright, representing 20 victims who gave evidence to the inquiry, said the findings showed the Church was incapable of making itself a safe place for children despite repeated inquiries and damning reports.

Irish, Australian, and German inquiries have previously revealed high numbers of child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church's ranks, as well as widespread institutional cover-up of abuse, which at times involved moving offending priests into new dioceses.

The report criticised the Vatican and the Apostolic Nuncio, its ambassador to the UK, for failing to provide a witness statement to the inquiry despite repeated requests.

"The responses of the Holy See appear at odds with the Pope's promise to take action on this hugely important problem," said Alexis Jay, the inquiry chair.

Pope Francis has previously pledged zero tolerance for anyone in the church who abuses children, likening such abuse to a "satanic mass", and in 2019 the Vatican held a summit on the protection of children in the church.

The report also criticised the most senior Catholic cleric in England and Wales, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, for failing to acknowledge any personal responsibility or show compassion for victims in recent cases.

Victims and their representatives have called for his resignation.

"He has lost all moral authority and must go," said one victim, a former seminarian identified only as Frank, who gave evidence to the inquiry.

Shortly after the publication of the report, Cardinal Nichols said he was ashamed.

Ex-American cardinal misled Popes, Vatican says

The publication of the British inquiry coincided Tuesday with the Holy See's two-year investigation into ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, which said he misled a range of high-ranking clerics including former Pope John Paul II, who was made a saint in 2014.

McCarrick, a highly influential figure in the American Church, resigned as cardinal in 2018 and was expelled from the Roman Catholic priesthood last year, after a Vatican investigation found him guilty of sexual crimes against minors and adults and abuse of power.

With testimony from 90 witnesses and dozens of documents, letters and transcripts from Vatican and US Church archives, the 460-page document offers a remarkable reckoning by an institution known for its secrecy, portraying a man long able to convince superiors of his innocence.

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In November, 2000, Pope John Paul II appointed McCarrick archbishop of Washington DC — one of the most prestigious posts in the US Church — despite having the Vatican ambassador to the US confirm to him that he "shared a bed with young men" in an earlier investigation.

The report said the Pope's willingness to believe McCarrick's denials was likely influenced by his experience in his native Poland when its communist government used "spurious allegations against bishops to degrade the standing of the Church".

The report also found John Paul II's successor, Pope Benedict XVI, rejected further investigations into the cardinal as he had sworn on his oath as a bishop that he had not sexually abused anyone and "there was no indication of any recent misconduct [with adults]".

After he was elected in 2013, Pope Francis became aware of "allegations and rumours" concerning McCarrick's past behaviour, but only acted on them following new allegations surfacing in 2017, the report said.

McCarrick has said he had no recollection of child abuse and has not commented publicly on allegations of misconduct with adults.

Now aged 90, he is living in isolation. The two lawyers who represented him did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

ABC/Reuters