Catholic Church under the microscope, by Megan Neil, news.com.au (February 05, 2017)

The Catholic Church in Australia believes it has come a long way from its dark history of child sexual abuse. The answer to just how far may rest with Rome.

Australia's child sex abuse royal commission is devoting the next three weeks to trying to find out why widespread abuse occurred over decades in Catholic institutions.

Francis Sullivan, chief executive of the church's Truth Justice and Healing Council, argues the church today is a very different place to what it was when most of the abuse examined by the royal commission took place.

"The type of outfit which we call the Catholic Church in Australia today is light years away from what it was in the '60s and '70s," Mr Sullivan told AAP.

The commission will release data revealing the extent of child sex abuse in Catholic institutions in Australia, based on claims made to the church, as part of its 15th and final public hearing focused on the church that begins in Sydney on Monday.

Its scope is broad and covers issues fundamental to the Catholic Church as a whole: its structure and governance including the role of the Vatican, canon law, clericalism, mandatory celibacy, confession and the screening, training and supervision of priests and other religious.

Mr Sullivan said the church in Australia will take very seriously any recommendations or findings from the royal commission, although there may be issues that can only be dealt with by the Vatican.

"If the royal commission is talking about changes in the Catholic Church that only can occur in Rome, then Rome needs to deal with that.

"The Australian church will deal with what the Australian church can deal with. It's as practical as that."

Mr Sullivan said the church had already made many changes, including putting in place an independent body to ensure Catholic entities adhere to new national standards to protect children.

Victims' advocacy group Broken Rites spokesman Dr Wayne Chamley questions how much the church has really changed, noting it took two decades to get a convicted Melbourne pedophile priest laicised.

"The culture of the bishop hasn't changed. The religious and ordained don't abide by the rules and the people at the top of the hierarchy either choose not to or don't have any power to force them to abide by the rules.