It is being reported that friars in the city preyed on vulnerable males for sex.
Revelations have emerged that several friars from the order of Discalced Carmelites paid men for sexual services, according to The Times newspaper.
Worshipers at the order are thought to have gone public with the allegations following a slow reaction from the Vatican and the transfer of one of the accused to another location.
Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, a former Vatican prefect for economic affairs and a member of the highest court, is backing the claims.
He told Italian newspaper La Rebubblica: "It's not sufficient that the incriminated friars are sent away.
"If the accusations are true, the guilty must be punished, including their expulsion from the order and demotion to lay status."
He was also critical of the slow response by the vicar-general of Rome, Cardinal Agostino Vallini, who was sent details in July.
It is thought that one friar had used drugs before paying men for sex in a park.
One of the alleged male prostitutes involved told the newspaper Corriere della Sera that one friar would even take him inside the friary.
Cardinal Agostino Vallini denies that he buried the document.
The head of the order, Father Agusti Borrell, stresses that no accusations have been proven.