Archbishop of Lyon, Philippe Barbarin, along with six other priests, has been ordered to appear in court for allegedly not reporting paedophilia committed by another clergyman, Bernard Preynat.
Nadia Debbache, the lawyer representing the alleged victims, told the Independent that the scandal goes beyond the accused priests.
Regarding the cover-up, she said: "Everyone at his level has participated, including within the Vatican."
Preynat is alleged to have abused young boys between 1986 and 1991 in his Lyon diocese.
Fr Barbarin, who was once tipped as a successor to Pope Francis, will go on trial in April for not reporting the abuse.
The 66-year-old cardinal and others have been accused by Preynat's alleged victims of not reporting the crimes to the authorities, after a former scout in 2014 accused the cleric of abusing him in the 1980s.
Preynat was dismissed in 2015 and prosecutors say he has admitted charges of child abuse.
Fr Barbarin has denied any wrongdoing, claiming he did not know how to go about dealing with allegations dating back over two decades.
