America’s top bishop said the days of sheltering sex abusers in the Roman Catholic priesthood were “history”, following reports showing the extent of assaults on children over the last half-century and saying church leaders bore much of the blame.

A FORMER US governor yesterday refused to withdraw his remarks likening Roman Catholic bishops to the Mafia.

American cardinals arrived in Rome today for meetings with the Pope, saying they will take whatever steps are needed to assure Catholics that a paedophile priests scandal is under control.

The Pope has summoned American cardinals to the Vatican for an extraordinary meeting to talk about sex scandals that are hitting the Catholic church in the US on an almost daily basis.