"I was touched in the groin and inside of my thighs," said 45-year-old Respall, recalling how a Marist brother teacher abused him and his classmates in a Sydney school in 1974.
"He was blatantly open, he would tuck your shirt in, in the playground. Everybody knew about what was going on yet nothing was done," Respall told Reuters in an interview on Monday.
Respall said some of his school friends wrote swear words on the inside of their thighs, hoping the brother would be offended and not molest them.
"As you go through life you don't want to remember these things. It's an horrific experience to be touched and molested at a very young age," said Respall.
Pope Benedict confronted the issue of sexual abuse in the church during a visit to Washington in April, meeting victims and vowing to keep paedophiles out of the priesthood.
Broken Rites, which represents abuse victims in Australia, has a list of 107 convictions for church abuse, but says the real number of cases is far greater as only a handful go to court.
Broken Rites says the Pope, who will be in Sydney to attend the Catholic Church's World Youth Day from July 15-20, should offer a "proper apology, not just a motherhood statement...to a group of victims of church sexual abuse".
Australia's Cardinal George Pell says he is sure the Pope will address the issue of sexual abuse, but he has stopped short of revealing whether Pope Benedict will apologise to victims.
"The fact the bishops and religious leaders in Australia have already apologised, quite a number of times, these symbols do contribute to healing," Pell told Reuters.
"The Pope handled the issue well in the United States. I hope and pray, and anticipate, that he will handle the issue appropriately here," he said.
PAPAL HEALING
Marist Brother Ross Murrin, 52, who molested Respall and others, was jailed in March after pleaded guilty to 17 charges of sexual abuse stretching over 10 years.
"He is a predator. He is a Pied Piper of paedophiles as far as I am concerned," said Respall, who admits to a sense of relief and justice now Murrin is behind bars. But Respall believes the healing process also requires the Pope to apologise.
