The greatest impact of the child abuse royal commission will be in prosecuting more offenders, an advocate for victims of pedophile priests says.

Cardinal George Pell and a bishop who knew about clergy sexually abusing children in Victoria's Ballarat diocese will front the commission's public hearing later this year.

It is what victims wanted but advocacy group Broken Rites founder Chris Wilding is sceptical Cardinal Pell will shed any further light on widespread abuse over decades in the Victorian diocese.

She also doubts former Ballarat bishop Ronald Mulkearns will reveal the full extent of what he knew, despite the commission hearing that he presided over pedophile priests being moved between parishes.

"I had great hopes for the royal commission that we would at last get some shred of truth," she told AAP.

"But I just don't see it happening."

However Ms Wilding hopes that police will be able to charge more offenders out of evidence before the royal commission.

"I think that the police need to be very very focused more on the victims' statements," she said.

"As a result of the royal commission more people are coming forward so they're able to have a lot more evidence at their disposal to nail these people and I think that's where the focus should be."

Cardinal Pell, now the Vatican's financial chief, has repeatedly rejected claims he tried to bribe one victim to keep quiet, ignored complaints and was involved in moving Australia's worst pedophile priest Gerald Francis Ridsdale to a different parish.

The claims were aired again during the first stage of the commission's public hearing held in Ballarat in May.

The second stage will be staged in Melbourne from November 23, with the commission citing logistical issues owing to the expected high level of community interest for its relocation from Ballarat.

It is expected to run for up to four weeks.