A man abused by notorious paedophile Christian Brother Edward "Ted" Dowlan is suing George Pell, alleging the disgraced Cardinal did nothing to protect him.

Key points: The lawsuit alleges Pell knew of abuse by notorious paedophile Christian Brother Edward "Ted" Dowlan

The lawsuit alleges Pell knew of abuse by notorious paedophile Christian Brother Edward "Ted" Dowlan The abuse victim alleges Pell was involved in moving Dowlan from school to school, allowing the offending to continue

The abuse victim alleges Pell was involved in moving Dowlan from school to school, allowing the offending to continue Pell was in court earlier this week in a bid to overturn a conviction on five charges of abusing choirboys in 1996

The man was a student at East Melbourne's Cathedral College when he was abused by Dowlan, who was first jailed in the 1990s for abusing boys in the 1970s and 1980s.

Taking civil action in the Supreme Court, the man alleges Pell knew of Dowlan's abuse and was involved in moving him from school to school, allowing it to continue.

Pell was the episcopal vicar for education in the Ballarat diocese from 1973 to 1984.

Dowlan is serving jail time for abuse he admitted committing between 1971 and 1988.

Convicted paedophile and former Christian Brother Edward "Ted" Dowlan changed his name to Ted Bales.

The Supreme Court heard on Friday Pell had not responded to the civil suit.

Dowlan remained a Christian Brother until 2008 and changed his name to Ted Bales in 2011 to separate himself from the earlier offending.

He was jailed again in 2015 after admitting to the abuse of another 20 boys.

The civil case is due to go before a jury next year, but parties will first have to attend mediation.

Barrister Geraldine Gray was in court representing Bishop of Ballarat Paul Bird, Archbishop of Melbourne Peter Comensoli and the Catholic Education Commission, who are also named in the suit.

Michael Magazanik, representing the man, said there was no question the abuse occurred and his client had been compensated for it previously.

It was not a complicated case, he said.

Ms Gray noted there were specific allegations made against each defendant which would take time to address.

Pell is facing a number of civil suits in the Supreme Court, on top of his criminal matters.

He faced the Court of Appeal this week in a bid to overturn his December conviction on five charges for abusing two 13-year-old choirboys at St Patrick's Cathedral in 1996.

Pell was jailed in March and is serving a six-year sentence, with a minimum three years and eight months.

AAP

Editor's note: On Tuesday April 7, 2020, the High Court in a unanimous decision upheld Cardinal Pell's appeal and quashed his convictions on all five charges.