🔗 Share this article Victims of Catholic Clergy Sex Abuse Express Hope After Meeting with the Pontiff End Clergy Abuse Global representatives and survivors gather in St. Peter Square after the encounter with Pope Leo Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See. The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem. Global Strict Approach Advocated The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US. The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey. "Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked. Inherited Challenge The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years. Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse. Deeply Felt Connection For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes. "We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse." Historic Encounter Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence. The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey. The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America. They added the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth." "Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us." Pope Leo celebrates Mass in the Vatican on 19 October Church Regulations Changes The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide. They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo. "He appeared interested in looking at it," they remarked. Accountability Highlighted A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence." The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up." Moving Forward The representative shared 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." After the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for future change. "We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and continuing to build that bond is a step in the correct path," they stated. They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."