The report, compiled by a German law firm, found that the pope - then called Josef Ratzinger - could be "accused of misconduct" over his handling of the cases.

Ratzinger, 93, has lived in the Vatican since the end of his papacy in 2013, but he was archbishop of Munich and Freising between 1977 and 1982.

The report detailed four instances involving the archbishop:

• Two cases where perpetrators offended while he was in office but, while they were punished by the judicial system, they were allowed to continue pastoral work without limitations

• A case where a cleric convicted outside Germany was put into service in Munich despite Ratzinger knowing his history

• A suspected paedophile priest transferred to Munich for therapy in 1980 - a transfer approved by Ratzinger. The priest was allowed to resume pastoral work - a decision the church said was made by someone else - and was convicted of molesting a boy in 1986

The former pope has denied the accusations.

One of the report's authors Martin Pusch said: "In a total of four cases, we came to the conclusion that the then-archbishop, Cardinal Ratzinger, can be accused of misconduct."

Munich's current archbishop, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, has promised a response to the report later today.

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said it would evaluate the full report and examine its details.

He said: "In reiterating a sense of shame and remorse for the abuse of minors by clergy, the Holy See assures its closeness to all victims and confirms the path it has taken to protect the little ones and guarantee them a safe environment."

A separate report in 2018, commissioned by the church, found that at least 3,677 people were abused by Germany's clergy between 1946 and 2014.

More than half of them were 13 or younger and nearly a third served as altar boys.