Sex abuse is a pervasive global issue that goes beyond the Church and which "will not go away", Archbishop Charles Scicluna believes.

In an interview that sheds some light on his work as the Vatican's leading sex crimes investigator, Mgr Scicluna told The Washington Post that he "hoped and prayed" that the institution can "become an example of best practices" for its way of responding to and preventing abuse. 

"But we will not solve the problem," the Archbishop told the US newspaper, calling sex abuse a pervasive global issue that goes beyond the church. 

Mgr. Scicluna has been travelling to Rome for a week each month since Pope Francis gave him a major role to promote and safeguard the doctrine on faith and morals in the Church. But he was involved in tackling abuse for years before that, having served in the Congregation of the Faith under Cardinal Ratzinger under the Pope John Paul II papacy.

The Pope sent him to Chile at the end of January last year to look into allegations against a bishop accused of covering up clergy crimes against minors there.

While he has interviewed hundreds of victims over the years, most of the time, Mgr. Scicluna refuses to speak about cases or his work, with his findings going directly to the Pope. 

According to the US newspaper, the Archbishop dismissed the notion that priestly celibacy can lead to a culture of sexual secrecy. The more difficult question, he told the Post, was what to make of data that showed clerical abuse victims were predominantly male, and often teenagers. 

"People invariably make the link with same-sex attractions. 

"I don't think you can pinpoint only one set of causes. This cannot be a judgement about a category of people," he told the newspaper. 

When asked about the possibility of being involved in any future investigations, Mgr. Scicluna said that he would be "available". 

"Probably I will do it again by mandate of the Holy Father."