POPE Francis tried to blame the devil for the latest paedophile sex abuse cover-up to rock the Catholic church today.

The pontiff has been under intense pressure since former Vatican ambassador Carlo Vigano claimed the church has known about the allegations against ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick for years.

The Vatican was apparently aware that McCarrick invited seminarians to his New Jersey beach house and into his bed since at least 2000.

Today, Francis said: "In these times, it seems like the Great Accuser has been unchained and has it in for bishops.

"True, we are all sinners, we bishops. He tries to uncover the sins, so they are visible in order to scandalise the people."

It comes a day before he meets with US cardinals and bishops who are demanding to know how one of their own climbed the clerical ranks despite allegations he slept with seminarians.

The Vatican confirmed the US delegation would be headed by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, head of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Di Nardo has said he wants Francis to authorise a full-fledged investigation into ex-Cardinal McCarrick, who was removed as cardinal in July after a credible accusation that he groped a teenager.

Paloma García Ovejero, the vice director of the Vatican press office, announced the decision in a September 12 briefing, The National Catholic Reporter reported.

He said: "The Holy Father, hearing from the Council of Cardinals, has decided to call a meeting with the presidents of the bishops' conferences of the Catholic Church on the theme of 'protection of minors."

The situation is so unprecedented that when asked during the briefing how many national bishops' conferences there are across the globe, Garcia did not know.

Estimates suggest there are 114 national conferences of bishops in the Latin church and 21 synods, councils, and assemblies of Easter-rite Catholic Churches.

Massimo Faggioli, a professor of historical theology at Villanova University, said that Francis' calling was a "change of course" from how his predecessors.

He claimed those before him placed "more emphasis on the individual bishop's authority and less on the bishops' conferences."

Faggioli said: "The abuse crisis has changed this. This rebalancing is one of the effects of the abuse crisis on Catholic ecclesiology."

McCarrick, a former archbishop of Washington, renounced his place in the College of Cardinals in July following revelation that he sexually harassed or abused several young men.

In a statement yesterday, the Council of Cardinals said the Vatican was: "formulating possible and necessary clarifications" to Vigano's letter.

The nine-member group, which was created by Francis in 2013 to advise him on reforming the Vatican bureaucracy, also said it had asked the pontiff to reflect on its own composition.

That request has led to speculation that there could be a shakeup of the membership of the council, which currently includes two prelates under scrutiny.

These include Australian George Pell, on trial in his native country over allegations of past sexual abuse, and Chilean Francisco Errázuriz Ossa, accused of covering up for abusive priests as archbishop of Santiago.

It is unclear whether either will be at the upcoming meeting.

In April Pope pleaded for forgiveness and admitted to making "grave errors" in Chile's sex abuse scandal and apologised for rubbishing the claims victims predator priest, Reverand Fernando Karadima, had made.