People that have accused members of the Church of abuse claim that it is using its political and legal clout to oppose bills that would decrease the limitations for victims of child sex abuse to take action.
There are limitations that forbids prosecutors or plaintiffs from taking legal action after a certain number of years.
The Pope, however, has vowed to root out "the scourge" of sex abuse from the Roman Catholic Church, and created a Vatican tribunal to judge clergy accused of such crimes in 2015.
But according to Reuters U.S. victims' representatives say the biggest problem stopping victims from having more time to report abuse is the actual Church itself.
They want the Pope to change this.
Mark Rozzi, was a 13-year-old altar boy at the time when his Pennsylvania priest sexually assaulted him in a shower.
Mr Rozzi says he was groomed with trips to McDonald's and secretly sharing beers.
It took him 25 years to speak out about this abuse, and by this point it was too late for any legal action.
Now a 44-year-old Pennsylvania state representative, Rozzi is behind a number of bills making their way through the legislature that aims to give alleged child victims more time to sue their alleged attackers.
He ran for office promising to change the law in 2012 after discovering that three friends who had also been sexually abused had committed suicide.
So far the U.S. Church has already spent around $3 billion (around £1.9 million) settling payments and other costs.
It has even been forced to sell some assets, including properties, and cut costs.
Stories first began to emerge about abuse within the Catholic church in 2002.
Reuters says as many as 100,000 children could have fallen victim to clerical sexual abuse according to a Vatican paper.
Around 4,300 members of the Catholic clergy were accused of sexual assault, and at least 300 have been convicted, according to Bishop Accountability, a private group that has tracked the scandal.
Marci Hamilton, a professor at the Cardozo School of Law in New York, who studies statutes of limitations, said: "It is the bishops who have blocked any kind of meaningful reform.
"The bishops and the pope have a lot of explaining to do as to why it would be in their mission to keep all of these victims from seeking justice."
These limitations vary on a state-by-state basis meaning alleged victims' rights to seek justice are different in each state.
Six states, including Connecticut and Delaware, have extended their statutes of limitation for child sex abuse.
The Church has said that allowing victims to sue over alleged abuse that is decades old opens the way for weak evidence and could incur heavy fines.
Opposition is thought to be most effective in states with large Catholic followings, like New York or Pennsylvania.
These areas have a high number of Catholic lawmakers who do not want to damage the Church's social mission.
Officials from the Vatican say the abuse will not be a major focus of the Pope's visit but that it will be addressed in some way.
Pope Francis set up a commission to advise him on how to root out the problem, communicate with victims and to advise dioceses on how to employ best practices.
But campaigners want him to go further.
David Clohessy, executive director of the Survivors Network of Abuse by Priests, said: "The pope has virtually limitless powers.
"He could sack, and should sack, literally dozens of bishops tomorrow and if he does that, that's what will make a difference. That's the missing piece."
