More than half a million people formally left the Catholic Church in Germany last year, significantly higher than the previous record as the church wrestles with a long-running scandal over abuse by clergy.

Two envoys will work to get a “comprehensive picture of the complex pastoral situation in the archdiocese."

At least 547 members of a prestigious Catholic boys' choir in Germany were physically or sexually abused between 1945 and 1992, according to a report released Tuesday.

A statement from the German bishops' conference "opens the possibility of receiving the sacraments of reconciliation and the Eucharist."