An advocate for survivors of child sex abuse in Australian and New Zealand institutions says the "game's up" for the Catholic Church as Australia's highest-ranking Catholic, Cardinal George Pell, today faces a pre-sentence hearing.
Pell was convicted of five child sex offences, committed in 1996 against two 13-year-old boys in Melbourne.
The news was made public in Australia yesterday when a gag order was lifted, sending shockwaves across the world and through the Catholic church.
Pell, who is physically ailing, was swamped by a crowd of protesters and journalists as he arrived at the County Court of Victoria this morning.
There were cries of "you're filth" and "go to hell" as the 77-year-old pushed through the gauntlet of vocal protesters, shepherded by police into the building.
Leonie Sheedy, co-founder of survivor advocacy group Care Leavers Australasia Network, told 1 NEWS outside court that Pell's conviction sends a message to the Catholic church around the world to hand over their records on abuse cases.
"The game's up. Stop lying, open up the records, hand over the records. And it sends a message to the Pope, no matter your position, no matter your power, your status, your educational level, you know, you commit a crime against a child and you're going to face the laws of the nation," Ms Sheedy said.
Holding a placard reading "Churches must be accountable", Ms Sheedy said she thinks the Pope is now weakened in his position.
"The fact that he had that three-day conference in Rome just last week and he already knew that Pell had been convicted, and yet he came out with those ridiculous statements about the devil. And like, seriously. I think they're irrelevant now the Catholic Church.... and their power has gone. They are not as powerful as they used to be when we were children."
“We've got New Zealanders can't live in your country because of what happened to them
Ms Sheedy's group supports and advocates for people who were raised in Australian and New Zealand orphanages, children's homes and foster care.
"We want to raise awareness of the damage and crimes committed on children who lost everything - lost their parents, lost their brothers and sisters, lost an education, lost the right to be treated as a normal member of society," she said.
Australia had 900 orphanages and children's homes, missions and foster care establishments, she said.
"And many, many people who have been raised in these hellholes have suffered terrible crimes against them as little children. And we could never get out of those large institutions and report our crimes to the police.
"So today is really momentous for this country. You know there are even people who were abused in Australia who can't even reside in this country. They live in New Zealand. And we've got New Zealanders can't live in your country because of what happened to them as well."
"And I'm here to remember all those care leavers who died never getting justice. But at least we've got justice for that victim who had a crime committed against him by the highest officer in the Catholic church.
"That is not to be understated,. Like, we don't have buckets of money to take cases to court. The Catholic Church has lots of money, They can hire the sharpest minds in the legal fraternity. But care leavers are the marginalised and they're the poorest of abuse victims and we tend to get forgotten."
Lawyers for Pell, who maintains his innocence, have lodged an application for leave to appeal on three grounds, including that the jury verdict was unreasonable.
Pell's historical offences each carry a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
- With AAP
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