Senior clergy in Melbourne's Catholic Church say there is a groundswell of support in their ranks for an independent inquiry into the handling of sexual abuse complaints.
Among those supporting calls for an independent inquiry is the Archbishop's adviser on sexual abuse issues.
Father Tony Kerin, the Episcopal Vicar for Justice and Peace in the Archdiocese of Melbourne, says an independent inquiry would be costly but it would help.
Along with several other priests, he has recently been meeting with victims of sexual abuse through a victim's advocacy group.
"I would say there is growing appreciation among the clergy of the seriousness and significance of this problem of church sexual abuse," Father Kerin said.
"I also believe that most of the priests around the traps would say we are dealing with it now, what can we do about what has happened in the past?"
Father Kerin says he does not think the inquiry will find any major problems, but that will not be good enough for those who believe the church's response to the problem has been "disordered".
"They are looking for someone other than the church to assure them that the best efforts are being made," he said.
"Will an independent inquiry clear the air? Well perhaps it would, but only if the critics of the church response are satisfied that the inquiry is being made by someone of their liking."
He believes a judicial figure would hold enough respect to calm the concerns of those critics.
Since 1996, the Melbourne Catholic archdiocese has used its own commissioner to investigate sexual abuse complaints, a system which is separate to the national Towards Healing system of dealing with abuse.
More than 300 sexual abuse victims have received compensation from the Catholic Church.
Geelong priest Father Kevin Dillon says there is a groundswell of support among Melbourne's clergy for an independent inquiry along the lines of what happened in Ireland.
"This has been really quite a cleansing exercise for the church ultimately, particularly in Ireland, with a very courageous Archbishop," he said.
"There is a lot of bleeding, there is a lot of ongoing hurt, but ultimately it is seen as something which is going to turn the church around there. It is a whole nation of independents. It has got to come from outside the church."