In an unprecedented report, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child said Catholic Church officials had imposed a "code of silence" on clerics to prevent them reporting attacks to police, and moved abusers from parish to parish "in an attempt to cover up such crimes".
It said the Holy See must hand over its archives on the sexual abuse of tens of thousands of children so culprits, as well as "those who concealed their crimes", can be held accountable.
The Vatican responded quickly, saying the church was committed to "defending and protecting the rights of the child" and promising to give the UN report "thorough examination".
However, it also added the UN was interfering in Catholic moral teachings because the report also criticised its positions on homosexuality, contraception and abortion.
The watchdog's exceptionally blunt paper - the UN's broadest critique of the Catholic hierarchy - followed its public grilling of Vatican officials last month.
"The committee is gravely concerned that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children, and has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by and the impunity of the perpetrators," the report said.
It urged the Vatican to "immediately remove all known and suspected child sexual abusers from assignment and refer the matter to the relevant law enforcement authorities for investigation and prosecution purposes".
At a press conference following the release of the report, the committee's Kirsten Sandberg said the Vatican had "systematically" placed the reputation of the church over the protection of children.
"They are in breach of the Convention [on the Rights of the Child] as up to now, because they haven't done all the things that they should have done," she told reporters.
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