The German Bishops Conference has released a report on sexual abuse inside the Catholic Church in Germany saying 3,677 people were abused by clergy between 1946 and 2014.
Tuesday's report 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. Some 969 abuse victims were altar boys.
The report was leaked earlier this month and was heavily criticized for its lack of transparency.
The researchers wrote in their conclusions that there was evidence that some files were manipulated or destroyed, and many cases were not brought to justice. Sometimes abuse suspects - primarily priests - were simply moved to other dioceses without the congregations being informed about their past.
