''I've been persecuted, harassed, bullied,'' Mr Crowe said.

Ms Ryan said her entire career had been spent teaching in the Ballarat diocese until she began to have concerns about sexual abuse. She complained to the then Ballarat bishop, Ronald Mulkearns - who she said described paedophilia as an ''illness'' - and representative Catholic bodies, but was ignored.

''Due to the inaction within the church, I began to use my voice more publicly,'' Ms Ryan said. ''I contacted Broken Rites, I wrote letters to the editor, I even went on a Four Corners program.

''In 1996, both the principal and the parish priest of my school actively threatened my position if I continued my activities in the public domain.''

Ms Ryan said she attended the inquiry to speak for the boys she taught. ''I am their voice. Hopefully we are moving towards peace, justice and some kind of recovery.''