Former Pope Benedict XVI knew about priests who ‘abused children’ but failed to act during his time as archbishop of Munich, a German investigation into the Catholic Church has found.

Abuse continued during Pope Benedict’s time in the position and the accused remained active in church roles, the probe claims.

Pope Benedict, now 94, was then called Josef Ratzinger and held the position from 1977 to 1982. He has repeatedly denied the allegations.

The Vatican has expressed ‘shame and regret for the abuses on minors by priests’ and vowed to examine the details of the new document. 

The report into historic sexual abuse at the Munich Archdiocese was commissioned by the church itself.

Law firm Spilker Westphal Wastl accuses Pope Benedict of taking no action after being told of four cases.

It also faulted the current archbishop, a prominent ally of Pope Francis, in two cases.

Lawyer Martin Pusch said today: ‘During his [Pope Benedict’s] time in office there were abuse cases happening.

‘In those cases those priests continued their work without sanctions. The church did not do anything.

‘He claims that he didn’t know about certain facts, although we believe that this is not so, according to what we know.’

Two of those cases, Mr Pusch said, involved perpetrators who offended while he was in office and were punished by the judicial system.

They were kept in pastoral work without express limits on what they were allowed to do and no action was ordered under canon law, he claims.

In a third case, a cleric who had been convicted by a court outside Germany was put into service in the Munich archdiocese and the ‘circumstances speak for Ratzinger having known of the priest’s previous history’.

Pope Benedict XVI became the first pope to step down in more than 600 years in 2013, with his tenure plagued by allegations of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

At least 3,677 people were abused by German clergy between 1946 and 2014, with the majority of victims under 13, a church-commissioned report published four years ago concluded.

Most popes hold the position until their deaths, but Pope Benedict blamed his resignation on his age and deteriorating strength.

A spokesperson for him previously told German media he ‘takes the fates of the abuse victims very much to heart’ and is fully ‘in favour of the publication of the Munich report’.

He submitted an 82-page statement to WSW, according to reports.

The Munich archdiocese has vowed to consider ‘whether those responsible complied with legal requirements…and acted appropriately in dealing with suspected cases and possible perpetrators’.

Marx, a reformist who sits on powerful financial and political committees at the Vatican, has been the archbishop of Munich and Freising since 2008.

Archbishop, Cardinal Reinhard Marx has scheduled a statement on the report’s findings for Thursday afternoon.

A statement from the Vatican said: ’As we reiterate the sense of shame and regret for the abuses on minors by priests, the Holy See expresses its support for all victims and it confirms the path to protect minors, guaranteed safe spaces for them.’

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