Survivors of clerical sex abuse are hoping for real action after they meet Pope Francis this weekend, a campaigner has said.

He is due to arrive in Dublin on Saturday for two days of meetings with families and political authorities, as well as a trip to a shrine revered by Catholics.

Earlier this week, the leader of the world church condemned the “atrocities” of child sex abuse and clerical cover-ups in a strongly-worded open letter to the faithful.

The Catholic Church in the Republic has been rocked by revelations of wrongdoing by members of the religious orders stretching back decades.

Maeve Lewis, executive director of the One In Four Irish charity for those affected by sexual abuse, said: “If the pope is in an open, listening mode when he meets the survivors he can learn a lot about the terrible devastation of sex abuse and how people feel let down.

“If he makes any promises to survivors in terms of actions he should follow through on that.

“It would be terribly hurtful if the meeting (produced) no concrete outcome as a result of this.”

A representative of the Vatican, when asked about the pope’s meeting with Irish survivors, confirmed it would take place.

Spokesman Greg Burke told reporters it would not be announced until after it was over and that it would be up to the victims if they wanted to speak afterwards.

Pope Francis visit to Ireland
Preparations for the pope’s visit to Dublin (Laura Hutton/PA)

Kate Walmsley, 62, suffered sex abuse at the hands of a priest.

She said: “If he is the head of the Catholic Church then he is the person we need to talk to to put forward the wrongs all the children have suffered and I am one of them.”

Protesters have arranged a series of rallies coinciding with the pontiff’s trip to the Republic to highlight what they believe has been the church’s failure to properly address wrongdoing.

Ms Lewis said it would have been an “insult” had the pope not met survivors.

She said some would very much want to engage while others would avoid him due to a sense of “betrayal”.

Last week a grand jury report outlined seven decades of abuse in Pennsylvania.

The investigation found more than 1,000 children had been abused by 300 priests.

The pope has apologised after defending a bishop in Chile who was accused of hiding abuses by a priest.

The latest Vatican intervention on the issue comes as Ireland gears up for its first papal visit in 40 years during which at least half a million people are expected to attend a special mass in Dublin’s Phoenix Park.