🔗 Share this article Victims of Church Clergy Sex Abuse Express Hope After Encounter with the Pontiff Anti-Abuse Organization representatives and survivors gather in St. Peter Square after the encounter with the Pontiff People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See. The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue. Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US. The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative. "Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated. Legacy Issue The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades. Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse. Personal Link For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches. "Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials." Historic Encounter Seven members of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office. The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey. The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada. Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth." "Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and eager to work with us." The Pontiff leads religious service in the Vatican on recently Church Regulations Reforms The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally. They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they will present to Pope Leo. "He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they remarked. Responsibility Emphasized A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act." The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment." Moving Forward Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us." Following the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for future change. "We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," they commented. Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."