MORE than 600 children have been sexually abused by priests in the Australian state of Victoria since the 1930s, the Catholic Church has admitted.
The Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, described the figures as "horrific and shameful", while campaigners warned that the number could be as high as 10,000.
The figures were released in a submission to a state parliamentary inquiry into abuse cases. The church said the cases went back 80 years, with most taking place between the 1960s and the 1980s.
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