Ms McCormack, founder of CatholicCare, was confirmed on Wednesday as part of the 17-member Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, to advise the Pope on protecting children from abuse in the church.

In February, she will travel to Vatican City and meet other commission members from around the world, including two victims of church sexual assault, for the group's first meeting.

"I've worked in this area a long time, and this shows the Pope is taking the issue of sexual abuse very seriously," Ms McCormack said.

"It's about understanding what has happened all over the world, and making a safer place for all children."

Ms McCormack said through the new appointment she would visit the Vatican twice a year for the next three years, while also working on an Australian response to church sexual abuse.

"The meetings will take place in Rome, but will link back to an Australian group working on policy to stop this from ever happening again," she said.

"This will be a platform for the whole world. We can never be safe enough for children."

She said the group would formulate child protection policies for all facets of the church, from recruitment to training programs. She said her background in assisting victims of abuse gave her understanding of how the church could better respond to such matters.

"In the 1990s, I helped expose a lot of this, and the survivors of abuse were very isolated. Now, it is more out in the open," she said.

"This is about the future, not just the past.

"We are looking at what mistakes have been made, and the church is very ashamed of what happened, but we need to work on what will be in place for the future.

"It is about a culture of transparency now. We need to change the culture of silence."