🔗 Share this article Victims of Church Clergy Sex Abuse Express Optimism Following Meeting with Pope Leo Anti-Abuse Organization board members and victims pose in Vatican Square following the encounter with the Pontiff People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican. Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem. Global Strict Policy Pushed The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US. The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey. "We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated. Legacy Issue The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years. Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse. Personal Link For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused 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," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to end clergy abuse." Historic Meeting Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his official residence. The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative. The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada. They added the leader was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable." "Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us." Pope Leo leads religious service in Vatican City on recently Canon Law Changes The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally. They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will present to Pope Leo. "He seemed engaged in looking at it," they remarked. Responsibility Emphasized A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence." The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment." Path Ahead Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us." Following the encounter, they expressed optimism for future change. "We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated. They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."