🔗 Share this article Survivors of Catholic Clergy Sexual Abuse Express Hope Following Encounter with the Pontiff Anti-Abuse Organization board members and survivors pose in St. Peter Square following the encounter with the Pontiff People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican. The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue. Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States. The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey. "We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked. Legacy Issue The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years. Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse. Deeply Felt Connection For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between various churches. "Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse." Historic Meeting Multiple members of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office. The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey. The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America. Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "modest, funny, and very down to earth." "Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us." Pope Leo leads religious service in Vatican City on 19 October Church Regulations Changes The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally. They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo. "He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted. Accountability Highlighted A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence." The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up." Moving Forward The representative shared they informed the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us." After the encounter, they voiced optimism for future change. "We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," they commented. Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."