A leaked report has revealed the scale of sex abuse by Catholic priests in Germany, alleging that 'thousands' of children were abused over a 70-year period.
The report was due to be published on September 25th, but details were leaked by the Spiegel news outlet.
According to the report, at least 3,677 children - mostly boys - were sexually abused between 1946 and 2014.
A total of 1,670 priests are said to have committed some form of sexual assault.
The report claims more than half of the victims were aged 13 or younger.
Around one-in-six cases involved rape, according to Spiegel.
The report, which was ordered by Church officials in Germany, looked at 38,000 files from 27 German dioceses.
However, the researchers warn that the full scale of the abuse cannot be known.
They didn't have access to all relevant records, and say some other files were 'destroyed or manipulated'.
Details from the leaked report were released only hours after Pope Francis called a special summit of bishops from around the world to discuss how to prevent sexual abuse by priests.
The bishops will gather at the Vatican next February for the meeting.
The new report also follows the major investigation in Pennsylvania earlier this year, which alleged 301 Catholic priests in the US state sexually abused children while serving in active ministry.
Senior Church figures from the US are due to meet with the Pontiff at the Vatican tomorrow.
