New York clergy sex abuse victims are suing the pope — claiming in a landmark lawsuit filed Tuesday that he and the Vatican were aware that a significant number of priests were molesting children and kept it secret.

The class-action lawsuit, brought in Manhattan federal court by seven survivors who previously settled with the Catholic Dioceses in New York for “pennies on the dollar,” alleges sole defendant “the Holy See” acted negligently by instructing its bishops around the world to cover up cases of sexual abuse.

“The Holy See has known for centuries that Catholic priests were using their positions and roles in Catholic parishes and schools to sexually molest children,” the suit charges.

Top church sex abuse attorney Jeff Herman said he spent the past 12 months preparing the suit and speculated the settlement could reach into the billions — likening it to the recent enormous sums Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of Oxycontin, paid over the opiod crisis.

“What we now know is that the Holy See through the Pope issued very specific rules and policies instructuring bishops to keep secret information about kids being sexually abused by priests,” Herman told The Post.

“Because of that policy, families were not warned, kids were exposed to pedophiles, pedophile priests, and molested. They specifically kept it secret,” he continued.

The Holy See — the governing body of the entire Roman Catholic Church — is led by the pope, and according to Time magazine is estimated to be worth up to $15 billion.

The plaintiffs are being represented by top church sex abuse attorney Jeff Herman.

Earlier Tuesday, Pope Francis abolished the Vatican’s secrecy rules — giving legal authorities access to documents about sex abuse cases previously kept under high levels of confidentiality.

Herman said the timing of the Pope’s decision was “divine” and made it “crystal clear” that the shield of silence came from the top down.

“We have information now that specifically brings the Holy See into the cover up and into the secrecy leading to the abuse of thousands of kids in New York.”

The class action was made possible by the Child Victims Act — which waives the statute of limitations for 12 months and allows victims to revive old claims.