US victims of clergy abuse have welcomed Cardinal George Pell's child rape conviction in Australia.
America's largest support group for survivors, St Louis-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said Pell's prosecution offered two lessons.
"First, police and prosecutors are doing what popes and prelates are NOT doing - exposing child-molesting clerics," SNAP said in a statement.
"Second, kids can be protected from even powerful and politically connected predators if survivors are smart and brave enough to trust law enforcement."
Pell, Australia's highest-ranking Catholic, raped a choirboy in the 1990s in Melbourne and molested another.
A Melbourne jury found Pell guilty of five charges - one of sexually penetrating a child and four of committing indecent acts with children.
"Thousands of victims have thought 'My perpetrator is so shrewd and popular and convincing. I won't stand a chance if I speak up'," SNAP said.
"We hope Pell's conviction will urge them to re-consider their silence and come forward to independent law enforcement officials today."
© AAP 2019
