AS AUSTRALIA'S most senior Catholics told the media that the Catholic Church had changed immeasurably for the better in the past 20 years in tackling clergy sex abuse, a victims group cited 99 instances where it said the church's so-called Melbourne Response had failed them.

Archbishop of Sydney Cardinal George Pell said on Tuesday the church was victim of a ''persistent press campaign'' that significantly exaggerated the problem.

He told a press conference the church was serious about tackling the issue, and objected to it being described as ''the only cab in the rank'', while Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart - chairman of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference - said the church had taken decisive steps to make child safety a priority and to help victims.

But a victims group claims the Melbourne Response, set up by Cardinal Pell in 1996 when he was archbishop of Melbourne, is flawed and has often failed victims.