WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- Bernie McDaid was an 11-year-old altar boy when his priest began molesting him , one of 50 boys who have said they were molested by the same man . Olan Horne , from left , Faith Johnston and Bernie McDaid met with the pope Thursday . Like with so many victims of abuse , McDaid 's young life spiraled . He turned to drugs and alcohol in his teen years , struggling to cope with what `` Father B '' had done to him . On Thursday , he finally got a chance to do something he 'd hoped for decades : He met with the Holy Father and told him about the abuse he had suffered . `` I basically told him that I was an altar boy ... a young boy praying to God at the time that I was abused , '' McDaid said . `` It was n't just sexual abuse , it was spiritual abuse , and I want you to know that . '' `` And then I told him that he has a cancer growing in his ministry and needs to do something about it . And I hope he hears me right , and I touched his heart . And he nodded . '' Watch victims describe abuse and pope 's apology » . McDaid was part of a small group of victims of the sexual abuse scandal that rocked the Roman Catholic Church who met with Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday . They shared their stories with the pope in a Washington chapel in what the victims called an emotional , frank and ultimately hope-filled meeting . Faith Johnston clutched her mother 's rosary beads as she tried to speak to the pope . But her emotions took over . `` I did n't end up saying anything . I got up to him , and I burst into tears , '' said Johnston , who at 14 was molested by her priest . `` I think just my tears alone spoke -- just spoke so much . '' She added , `` I hope that other survivors can hear about this , see this and get the same hope that we 've gotten from it . '' Olan Horne said the pope first apologized to them in what he called an `` unscripted '' and `` free-flowing '' meeting . `` We were all able to answer all of the questions that needed to be asked and for him to respond to . And he did -- and he did forthright , '' Horne said . `` He seemed to intrinsically understand what we were talking about . And he spoke to those issues to each one of us in a spiritual way , in a pastoral way . And he also was very respectful of where and what we wanted to talk about . '' Horne added , `` My hope was restored today from what I heard . And I believe we received a promise . '' Horne and McDaid both accused the same priest , the Rev . Joseph Birmingham , of molesting them . Birmingham died in 1989 . The Rev . Federico Lombardi , a papal spokesman , said the pope listened to everyone 's `` personal accounts and offered them words of encouragement and hope . '' The surprise meeting came during the pope 's visit , the first trip to the United States by the Holy Father since the abuse scandal rocked the church in the early 2000s . The meeting is believed to be the first between a pope and the victims of clergy sexual abuse . The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests , the nation 's oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims , said it was pleased that the pope met with the victims but hopes the church will do more . `` This is a small , long overdue step forward on a very long road . We 're confident the meeting was meaningful for the participants , and we 're grateful that these victims have had the courage to come forward and speak up , '' the group said . `` But fundamentally , it wo n't change things . Kids need action . Catholics deserve action . Action produces reform , and reform , real reform , is sorely needed in the church hierarchy . '' Earlier Thursday , celebrating Mass in center field at Washington 's new ballpark , the pope gave a 20-minute homily that focused on hope , repentance , unity and reconciliation among the 70 million Catholics in the United States . `` It is in the context of this hope , born of God 's love and fidelity , that I acknowledge the pain which the church in America has experienced as the result of sexual abuse of minors , '' Benedict said . `` No words of mine could describe the pain and harm inflicted by such abuse . It is important that those who have suffered be given loving pastoral attention . '' McDaid was sitting in the audience with his mother when he heard those words . Watch pope 's apology 'blew me away ' » . `` I had tears in my eyes that I was n't ready to have . It was an incredible moment for me , '' he said . Now , he hopes the church will follow through . `` We 're at the beginning of a new start , and there 's real hope this time . It 's not just words . I think there 's going to be action following this moment now . '' E-mail to a friend .
Victim : I was ` ` a young boy praying to God at the time that I was raped '' Group of sex abuse survivors met with pope Thursday ; pope says . ` ` He seemed to intrinsically understand what we were talking about , '' Pope says . Victim support group says ` ` real reform is sorely needed in the church hierarchy ''