Their demonstration concluded with a candlelight procession to St. Peter's Square. Before the half-mile walk up the street from where they were gathered at the monument of Castel Sant'Angelo, they observed a minute of silence and inaugurated "The Year of the Survivor."
The Vatican spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, came out to greet the group. But reaction to his appearance seemed to be met with mixed emotions.
Because the group was not given permission to carry out the protest in St. Peter's Square, when it came time for the procession, only two members were allowed by Italian authorities to proceed into the square. The two took with them 75-100 letters written by victims addressed to the Vatican and Pope Benedict XVI.
Escorted by agents from the Roman "Inspettorato" police service and accompanied by a horde of international media representatives, the two covered the distance to the entrance of St. Peter's Square to pass the sealed messages on.
They were met by authorities once again inside the square and settled for leaving the letters on the ground near a policeman who insisted on examining their passports. They had hoped to leave the letters at an entrance to the Pope's residence called the Bronze Door.
Gary Bergeron, the other co-founder of Survivors' Voice, called the event a chance for “all survivors to empower themselves by standing up."