Before Pope Francis touched down in the United States, Kenneth M. O’Renick, 72, who was six when he was abused by a priest at his parish school in Kansas City, was brimming with optimism about the pope. Then he heard what Francis had said to American bishops in Washington about their courage and generosity in the face of the sexual abuse crisis.

“It just turned us off,” he said on Sunday, after the pope announced that he had met with a group of abuse victims in Philadelphia. “As much good as this pope has done, what he said, we were very disappointed, very disappointed in that. That was a big step back. That was something that hit us right between the eyes.”

His praise for the bishops, Mr. O’Renick said, made his promises to protect youth and hold abusers accountable on Sunday “ring hollow, very hollow, to me.”

Before Francis’ arrival, Mr. O’Renick took the removal of Bishop Robert W. Finn as head of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph as proof that Francis was taking decisive steps toward accountability. By Sunday, he had lost his certainty: “He has not even come close to what needs to be done, in my opinion,” he said. “I hope that it gets better, but I’m certainly not as hopeful as I was in anticipation of him coming.”