🔗 Share this article Survivors of Church Religious Sex Abuse Voice Hope After Meeting with Pope Leo End Clergy Abuse Global representatives and survivors pose in Vatican Square after the encounter with Pope Leo People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican. The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem. Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US. The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative. "Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked. Legacy Challenge The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years. Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse. Personal Link For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches. "Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials." Historic Meeting Seven members of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office. The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative. The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada. They noted the leader was "tender" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth." "Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us." Pope Leo leads religious service in the Vatican on recently Church Regulations Changes The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally. They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they will submit to the pontiff. "He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted. Accountability Highlighted A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act." The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up." Moving Forward The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us." Following the encounter, they expressed optimism for progress. "We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated. They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."