Pope Francis, who is on a visit to Portugal, slammed the members of the country’s Church institutions for their lethargic response to decades-long ignored sexual scandal, which he said tarnished the reputation of the Catholic Church and drove the believers away.

Pope Francis slams clergy sex scandal in Portugal, meets with survivors  

Pope Francis on Saturday (March 25) extended a 2019 law to cover lower rung Catholic leaders responsible for sexual abuse committed under their watch in Vatican-approved bodies.

Pope extends law ambit to hold lower-rung leaders responsible for sex abuse

Weeks after Pope Francis returned from a six-day trip to Canada where he apologised to victims of sexual abuse by the Church, a Canadian cardinal named Marc Ouellet, regarded as a potential successor to him and having a high-ranking position within the Vatican has been accused of sexual assault.

Canada: Weeks after Pope's visit, a prominent cardinal named in a sexual assault class lawsuit

A much-awaited independent study has revealed that hundreds of sexual violence cases have been committed by Germany's clergy and laymen in the European nation's top diocese.

Hundreds of child sex abuse cases revealed in German diocese: Report