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A fresh push to hold the Catholic Church to account, with more survivors of child sexual abuse coming forward to sue for compensation, is bringing "breathing space and hope" to some people. The news that the church was now facing more cases in Victoria after the 'Ellis Defence' was abolished by the state government was met with enthusiasm by some survivors, who had been through previous attempts to access compensation. While a story in The Age noted concerns about the increased resourcing required by dioceses to deal with the deluge of new cases and the chance that some churches may need to sell assets to pay for the claims, the symbolism of the church paying for its sins is not lost on survivors. According to Stephen Woods, who was raped by three priests while he was a primary school student in Ballarat, it's a "problem of their own making". READ MORE: Catholic church swamped with hundreds of new sex abuse claims after legal change "It amazes me that they could not see this coming, they genuinely believed...that they could permanently cover this disaster up," he said. "It does not surprise me because over the decades you meet so many survivors from Ballarat, and the district, that I would not be surprised if the number doubled or tripled in a short period of time." It's estimated more than 800 new legal actions may be under way across the state, from people who were sexually abused by priests as children against the church for the abuse itself or for covering it up. Many survivors have not been able to have their cases heard in court, and some survivors are still wary of the National Redress Scheme, which caps payments at $150,000 for "extreme" cases. Mr Woods said instead, having the ability to sue the church was an option many would be interested in pursuing. "Changing state laws allows some survivors to have some breathing space and hope," he said. "Survivors are feeling that maybe I can start hoping, and I can put a bit of this behind me and feel a little safer and more secure in the future." The Catholic Diocese of Ballarat was contacted for comment.

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