Catherine Dooley, of the Tatura parish, said cultural change was still needed in the Catholic Church.

Ms Dooley, who has previously criticised Sandhurst Bishop Les Tomlinson for his comments regarding the Melbourne Response, said the Sandhurst Diocese needed to accept ownership of abuse that has happened in the past.

“They have done nothing in the way of redress, nothing to support people whose lives were ruined,” she said.

“They’ll say they have done enough because they employed one person to help their response. But that’s one person for thousands and thousands of children in this diocese.

“They need to stop forcing people into confidentiality agreements, and to reveal all convictions for child abuse.

“The Catholic Church is notoriously slow to accept and instigate change. The way it is structured is resistant to change.”

The Royal Commission recommended religious ministers, out-of-home care workers, registered psychologists and school counsellors should be obliged to report sexual abuse – bringing them in line with police, doctors and nurses.

It found the greatest number of alleged perpetrators and abused children were in Catholic institutions.

The Sandhurst Diocese had the second highest rate of priests accused of child sexual abuse of Australia’s 17 Catholic dioceses, with almost 15 per cent of priests between 1950 and 2010 facing accusations.

Bishop of Sandhurst Les Tomlinson said the report was “deeply distressing” for survivors, the wider community and the church itself.

He said he would read the report “with a great sense of humility and sadness”, but claimed the church had already instigated change.

“The work of the Royal Commission, together with the courage of the survivors, has already brought about change, and the church is continuing to work diligently to ensure these failures are never repeated,” Bishop Tomlinson said.

“It is now time for a renewed focus on child and vulnerable adult protections. There have been significant reforms over the past years and it is now the responsibility of the church to continue this work.

“The Diocese of Sandhurst, through its leadership, has committed to the necessary changes, ensuring that children are safe as they can possibly be in all schools and parishes.”

Bishop Tomlinson said clergy, staff and volunteers now undergo mandatory child safety training programs, a Diocesan child safety officer had been appointed, a professional standards committee responded to complaints, and it was implementing Victorian child safe legislation.

There was no mention of policies related to past victims of child sexual abuse.