Cardinal George Pell has already said that he is deeply sorry for the Catholic Church's failings in responding to the rape of children by priests.

In the corporate blue and grey surrounds of the child sex abuse royal commission's 17th floor hearing rooms in Sydney's CBD next week he may repeat his undertaking to keep striving to make things better. He may declare himself on the side of the victims.

Cardinal George Pell is set to appear before the Royal Commission as one of his last appearances in Australia before his move to manage the finances of the Vatican. Credit:Arsineh Houspian.

There is much to regret in the church's handling of child sex abuse claims, and no doubt Cardinal Pell feels that deeply. A decade ago he and victim John Ellis were on opposite sides of the notorious court case in which the former Baker and McKenzie partner sought damages for sexual abuse by the priest Aidan Duggan which started when he was a 13-year-old altar boy in the Bass Hill parish.

The case set a legal precedent that has allowed the Catholic Church in Australia to successfully block victims' damages claims at court since. It established that the church was not a legal entity that could be sued, and that the archbishop could not be sued because he was not in charge of the archdiocese at the time of the abuse.