A new investigation has revealed that Catholic clergymen abused more than 200,000 children over the past 70 years.

The investigation, carried out by an independent commission, also revealed Tuesday that the Catholic Church covered huge facts with years of silence.

The commission’s report, released after a two-and-half-year investigation, showed about 216,000 minors were sexually abused since 1950 by Catholic clergymen in France.

“Until the early 2000s, the Catholic Church showed a profound and even cruel indifference towards the victims,” the report said.

Jean-Marc Sauve, head of the commission that compiled the report, at a Paris news conference, said most victims were boys between ages 10 and 13.

Figures of child abuse reported by church members and teachers of Catholic schools increased to 330,000.

Catholic bishops in France established the commission in 2018 to uncover abuses and restore confidence in the church after the number of parishioners dropped.

Mr Sauve urged the church to pay reparation to the victims, alongside the other 45 recommendations to stop child abuse by the church’s clergymen.