The Catholic Church in the Australian state of Victoria has, after a parliamentary inquiry, revealed that its complaints department has received 618 accusations of sexual abuse by clergy in incidents dating back to the 1930s. The inquiry was launched after 40 victims in the state committed suicide. Numbers were highest in the 1970s and 1980s, with only 13 of the reported cases having taken place since 1990. However, experts say the number of victims could be as high as 10,000, since most sex abuse victims never report the crime.
