Italian authorities have arrested, investigated or convicted 130 Catholic priests for sexually abusing children over the last decade, it has been claimed.
A prosecutor in Milan, Pietro Forno, who has won 10 convictions for paedophile priests, claimed that police suspected the existence of a "network of clergy who have a passion for minors".
He said abusive priests had been shuffled between dioceses, where they were free to molest more children.
"It seems that some chose the priesthood with the aim of being close to children," said Mr Forno, the head of a unit which investigates sex crimes.