He says the new commission announced Saturday by the Vatican is a step in the right direction.

"I have my doubts. I have my hopes," he told NewsCenter 5's Liam Martin on Saturday afternoon in an exclusive interview at his Peabody home.

McDaid is a victim of clergy sex abuse. He went public with that abuse in the late 1990s, touching off a storm of controversy for the Catholic Church both in Boston and around the globe.

In December 2013 the new pope announced he would appoint a panel to advise him on better addressing the issue. The Vatican today announced the formation of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

It's made up of three clergy and five laity. The laymembers include four women -- one of whom is also a victim of abuse -- a progressive makeup for a pope who has drawn both praise and criticism for often shirking tradition in his first year in office.

The eight members also include Cardinal Sean O'Malley, archbishop of Boston, who was at one point considered a potential candidate for pontiff.

He's a perceived reformer on the clergy sex abuse issue after his roles in Fall River in Boston.

McDaid said he believes O'Malley's heart is in the right place, but claimed his allegiance is to the Church.

"I just feel he works for the Catholic Church; Church first, the children second," McDaid said. "There's a lot more that could be done."

There has been no word yet from the Vatican on what the exact agenda of the commission will be. The members will meet two to three times a year, and will eventually advise the Pope on how to address and prevent the issue of clergy sex abuse.

O'Malley declined to comment on his role in the panel, but his spokesman said the archbishop will remain in Boston.

McDaid, for his part, said he hopes the first order of business will be to remove any priests who helped cover up abuse.

"Where somebody covered up, they should be let go, or they should let themselves go, and that would show survivors that there's really an order of change," he said.

McDaid made specific mention of the case of Bishop Robert Finn in Kansas City, Mo. He pleaded guilty in September 2012 to failing to report an accused priest but is still in office.

McDaid said that has to stop.

"The fact that Pope Francis cannot come up and say, 'Anybody accountable needs to leave' -- that would be a monumental feeling for me," he said.