They include 18 clerics who were allowed to continue pastoral work despite being convicted of abuse by the courts in Germany.

The report found Benedict’s successors as Archbishoip of Munich continued to cover up alleges abuses.

Cardinal Friedrich Wetter, Benedict’s immediate successor, is accused of covering up 21 cases. He denies responsibility.

Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the current Archbship of Munich, is accused of covering up two cases. The report accuses him of inaction over allegations of abuse until 2018, when it says he had a “change of attitude”.

“Sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is not a thing of the past,” said Mr Pusch as he presented the report to a press conference. 

“The perception of the injured party’s concerns was inadequate even after 2010. There was a general interest in secrecy and the desire to protect the church as an institution.”

“The frightening phenomenon of the cover-up needs to be examined,” said Mariomn Westpfahl, another of the report’s authors.

Benedict did not immediately comment. “He welcomes the process in Munich and the publication of the report,” his private secretary said last week, adding that the suffering of the victims “matters deeply to him”.