Summit on abuses at the Vatican: Cardinal says files have been destroyed

A senior Catholic cardinal stated that records documenting badual abuse of children had been destroyed, allowing the offenses to continue.

German Cardinal Reinhard Marx said at a conference on Pedophilia in the Church that the procedures for prosecuting offenders "were deliberately not respected".

"The rights of the victims have indeed been trampled," he said.

The unprecedented four-day summit brought together 190 bishops from around the world.

The Catholic Church faces increasing pressure in many cases of badual abuse of children and young men, with victims accusing it of failing to address the problem.

• The biggest challenge of the pope
• The most famous cardinal of the "victims of misuse"

"Files that could have documented the terrible acts and named the perpetrators have been destroyed, if not created," said Cardinal Marx on the third day of the conference at the Vatican. "Instead of the perpetrators, the victims were regulated and silence was imposed on them".

He called for greater transparency in the response of the Catholic Church to the issue, adding: "It is not the transparency that harms the church, but rather the acts of violence committed , the lack of transparency or the concealment that results "

On Friday, Cardinal Marx – one of the Pope's nine advisers, known as the C9 – met with survivors of mistreatment and members of the World Ending Clergy Abuse organization.

Hundreds of victims demonstrated in front of the Vatican to demand justice and zero tolerance on this case.

The conference was convened by Pope Francis, who had admitted earlier this month that badual slavery had been abused by clerics.

Last week, a former Catholic cardinal was defrocked following historical accusations of badual abuse.