Phil Saviano was abused and now runs the Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests, or SNAP. "We were performing sex on him... masturbation, oral sex... performing on the priest in the church". The problem for the Catholic Church world-wide is that it paedophile priests have been protected, rather than subject to civil law like anyone else. Bishop John Kinney admits that US priests haven't enforced their own rules on molestation. Richard Sipe, who authored 'Sex, Priests and Power', goes further: "the sexual activity is passed from the top down... it's given permission for by people who are high". The US Catholic church controlled the press and the courts, until the Boston Globe got a court ruling to open church files which reveal pay-offs to thousands of victims of paedophile priests. Father Coyne argues that it wasn't up to the Church to let the police know what was going on. But since January the Boston archdiocese has been forced to hand over 100 names to the police. The church is now fighting compensation claims. The best studies show 6% of priests are RIGHT NOW having sex with minors, and the notion of celibacy is almost a joke. Could this extend to the highest corridors in the Vatican? This sickening report throws light on a scandal of momentous proportions. "I knew if it was a sin I'd better confess it. Well what do you do when your abuser is also your confessor?" asks one victim.

Produced by ABC Australia