The resulting publicity and support for an apology similar to one the Pope gave during his US visit several months ago has surprised senior Australian clerics, including president of the Australian Bishops Conference and former Maitland-Newcastle priest Archbishop Philip Wilson, who has refused repeated and direct requests from The Herald and Hunter sex abuse victims to make a statement on the matter.

Bishop Malone declined to comment on Archbishop Wilson, apart from noting the archbishop's leadership on clerical sex abuse matters and the need for him to "tread a diplomatic and delicate line", because of his position as president of Australia's bishops, but he expressed concern at the silence from most other senior Catholic clerics.

"I must admit I'm a bit disappointed that I'm a fairly lone voice on this matter," he said.

In written submissions to the bishops' conference, some bishops suggested an apology to sex abuse victims was appropriate but there was "no real discussion about whether the Pope should give an apology or not", Bishop Malone said.

He expressed concern at controversial NSW legislation for World Youth Day that could lead to people being fined $5500 for "causing annoyance" to participants.

Bishop Malone supported Vacy resident Peter Gogarty's right to protest in Sydney about the Pope's silence after Mr Gogarty wrote to the Vatican calling for an apology.

Mr Gogarty was sexually abused by the late pedophile priest Jim Fletcher for six years.

"I would say people have every right to make a point if it remains peaceful," the bishop said.

Bishop Malone expressed concern about the handling of World Youth Day matters and the message being conveyed to the public.

"There's been aspects of it that have not been pleasing to me," he said.

"I don't know that it was necessary to fight against the racing fraternity at Randwick.

"There probably could have been better ways of handling it."

A plan to remove a stand of trees to provide easier access to World Youth Day participants, which was overturned after a public outcry, was "crazy stuff", the bishop said.

"There hasn't been a huge amount of effort to placate people and groups affected by it," he said.

Though the NSW Government is spending $86 million to subsidise World Youth Day events in Sydney, the Maitland-Newcastle diocese has not received government funding to host 3300 pilgrims who begin arriving today.

The diocese has refused to make public its World Youth Day bill but an organiser told The Herald it was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Bishop Malone compared the impact of a papal apology to pedophile priest victims to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's apology to indigenous Australians.

"I know that Kevin Rudd's apology did a lot for the nation and particularly for indigenous Australians," he said.

"Now if an apology has an effect like that in terms of the nation, then I know an apology by the Pope would be a good thing.

"It's really up to the Vatican now. It's their call. I'm only a very small cog in a large machine and I've had my say."