#ItalyChurchToo: Demand for probe into sexual abuse by clergy in Pope's backyard

Catholic groups in Italy have demanded an independent national enquiry into allegations of sexual abuse against the church. Accusing Italy's Church of an "institutional failure" to confront sexual abuse by clergy, the pressure groups have called for probe like the ones conducted in France and Germany.

Advocates for victims of sex abuse by Italian clergy launched #ItalyChurchToo movement lamenting that deference showed the Catholic Church hierarchy in Italy has conditioned everything from criminal prosecutions to media coverage of the problem.

A collective of nine groups - seven headed by women - said they hoped recent national inquiries in Germany and France, and planned ones in Spain and Portugal, would pressure the Italian Catholic Church to open its archives to independent investigators.

Also read: Pope Francis ashamed after French clergy scandal expose

But they acknowledged the context is far more complicated in Italy than in other European countries given the outsized political, economic and social weight the church carries in the pope's backyard.

The church's influence has resulted in a reluctance by prosecutors to investigate clergy abuse cases, a refusal by lawmakers to back parliamentary inquiries and disinterest by the Italian public, organisers of the #ItalyChurchToo campaign said.