THE number of new child sex abuse allegations against Roman Catholic clergy in the US and Church payouts for clerical sex abuse cases fell sharply last year, a report commissioned by US bishops said Tuesday.

Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Australia on a pilgrimage he says he wants to use to raise awareness about global warming and address the crisis of clergy sexual abuse.

Two unprecedented studies that document pervasive sex abuse by US Roman Catholic clergy found nearly 11,000 young people have claimed they were molested since 1950, and that bishops bear much of the responsibility for the crisis.