Warning: This story contains distressing details.
Paul Gray, a survivor of sexual abuse who testified on Tuesday at the royal commission, says Cessnock-based minister Father Peter Rushton, who has passed away, raped him for the first time when he was just 10 years old.
He was raped on a weekly or fortnightly basis until he was 14, he told the hearing.
"On many of these occasions Father Peter would cut my back with a small knife and smear my blood on my back.
“And I would like to add there that was [intended to be] symbolic of the blood of Christ."
Mr Gray recounted attending a church camp where he was chased and raped by two men.
During his statement, he struggled to speak as he choked with tears, but he insisted he finish.
Mr Gray added he was also abused at a local boys' home.
"I was usually locked in the room at the end of the hall, sometimes for hours at a time, and different men would visit me in the room and either rape me or make me perform oral sex on them."
A victim described difficulty coping later in life.
Another victim, Phil D'Ammond, became a ward of the state when he was 13.
Church youth worker James Michael Brown - who is now serving 20 years' jail for abusing boys - was eventually made his guardian.
Mr D'Ammond said it was normal for Mr Brown to abuse him at night.
"Drug abuse later became a way of life for me to avoid facing reality and memories of Jim's abuse."
The mother of an abuse survivor, Suzan Aslin, told the commission she raised concerns about both Peter Rushton and James Brown with the then-bishop of Newcastle, Alfred Holland.
"I don't know what the Bishop did and, as far as I was concerned, who else was I going to tell?
"Yes, I probably should have gone to the police, which I mentioned to the police years later, but at the time I thought, 'I have done the right thing, I have told the Bishop. The Bishop will fix it.'"
Mr Holland will be one of several Anglican figures who will give evidence to the Royal Commission.
Thirty people are expected to testify at the sixth public hearing in Newcastle.
Counsel Assisting Naomi Sharp questioned whether the diocese aware about the abuse.
"Another issue for consideration during this case study is whether there was a culture within the diocese that permitted child sexual abuse to flourish, and which protected perpetrators," she said.
If you would like support you can contact:
The Sane Helpline on 1800 187 263.
Lifeline on 131 114.
Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.
