Child sex abuse victims of New South Wales Hunter Valley Catholic priests say a full-scale probe into the church's handling of abuse cases will further help the healing process. Dozens of boys claim to have been abused by members of the clergy in the Maitland-Newcastle diocese since the 1970s.
Several priests have been convicted and others are still before the courts.
A senior Hunter police office believes a wider investigation like a royal commission is warranted.
Clergy abuse victim Peter Gogarty agrees.
"What needs to happen for there to be true healing is for the church to be able to come out and say to people that this was wrong, there were cover-ups," he said.
"The community needs to know that this is not going to happen again.
"That's one of my biggest concerns, is that if the church doesn't want to learn from this then there is an enormous risk that it will continue to happen."
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SIC: ABCN