Vatican issues new manual on reporting sex abuse

In one of the largest child sex abuse investigations in recent years, some 30,000 potential suspects could be tied to a case in western Germany. Here are some of the key questions and answers.

Acting US attorney Audrey Strauss confirms that British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested in the United States and has been charged with sex trafficking minors for her former boyfriend, the disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein committed suicide in jail while awaiting trial last year.

Child sex abuse offenders are "taking advantage" of the coronavirus pandemic to make and share more abusive material online. That warning from Catherine De Bolle, head of European law enforcement agency Europol. In an interview with FRANCE 24, she explains that with millions of children at home, many are going unsupervised, using outdated and poorly secured software which leaves them at greater risk from exploitation.

The Catholic Church issued new guidelines to the clergy, indicating they should contact police if there is suspected abuse. The Church had long opposed such an idea, saying it could lead to wrongful prosecution.

Malka L., a former school principal, is set to be deported to stand trial for 74 charges of child sex abuse. The decision follows a contentious, six-year legal battle.

Cardinal Angelo Becciu has hit back at Pope Francis, after the Holy See announced his resignation on Thursday. The now-former head of the Vatican's saint-making body says the pontiff pushed him out over fraud claims.

European finance experts are in Rome as part of an audit and have praised the Vatican's efforts to clean its financial house. The pope likened the fight to Jesus expelling the money changers from the temple.

The investigation, sparked by a tip from US authorities, led to 17 arrests and more than 800 charges being laid. Police say the suspects had ties to alleged offenders in the US, Canada, Europe and Asia.

Pope John Paul II promoted disgraced former US cardinal Theodore McCarrick for years despite reports of sexual abuse. A new report details who knew what before Pope Francis defrocked him in 2018.

The retired archbishop was found to have groped men during church meetings. It's the latest in a series of sexual scandals to have rocked the Catholic church.

Is there a right age of consent? A bill introduced in the French parliament would set the minimum age at 15 for consensual sex with an adult. The law here bans sex with a minor, but that carries a much lighter sentence than in Anglo-Saxon countries where it's automatically considered statutory rape. Why not here? Child sex abuse is an abuse of power, mighty adults imposing their will on minors. The issue's been brought to a head in France by some recent high-profile cases.

An official decree from the Vatican department in charge of doctrine has nixed any possibility that the Roman Catholic Church might accept same-sex marriages.