THE Roman Catholic church has threatened to sue former Vatican altar boys over their allegations of sexual abuse.

Lawyers for the Italian diocese of Como have also warned Italian investigative news programme Le Iene (Hyenas) not to broadcast the boys’ claims and have purportedly pressed a church official to recant his suggestion of a cover-up.

The Associated Press agency reported yesterday that it had seen a letter from Opera Don Folci association lawyer Riccardo Rolando Riccardi to one of the alleged victims.

Mr Riccardi said he was preparing a criminal defamation case in Rome’s tribunal “for the alleged crime committed by the divulgation of news to the press about alleged acts of sexual assault that allegedly occurred.”

He demanded that the former student submit to questioning or face interrogation by Rome prosecutors.

The association runs the St Pius X preseminary in the Vatican, where accusers allege that a former student — ordained as priest this year — demanded sexual favours for years from boys as young as 13.

Reporter Gaetano Pecoraro interviewed an ex-student — identified a “Marco” — who said the seminarian, who was a year older than him and in a position of authority, started abusing him from when he was 13 and continued until he was 18.

Marco’s roommate Kamil Jarzembowski said he had witnessed dozens of incidents. He first reported them to seminary officials, and then in writing to cardinals and finally to the Pope in 2014.

Internal church investigations, which initially did not interview the boys in question, declared the claims to be false.

The former students, including another who reported a groping incident when the seminarian was 20 and he was 15, have gone public with their allegations to Le Iene and in a book.