🔗 Share this article Survivors of Church Religious Sexual Abuse Voice Hope After Meeting with the Pontiff Anti-Abuse Organization representatives and survivors gather in St. Peter Square following the encounter with Pope Leo People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican. The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem. Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States. The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey. "Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they remarked. Legacy Challenge The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades. Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse. Personal Link For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches. "We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials." Significant Meeting Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office. The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative. The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America. Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth." "Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us." Pope Leo celebrates Mass in the Vatican on recently Canon Law Reforms The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally. They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to present to the pontiff. "He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey noted. Accountability Highlighted A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act." The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment." Moving Forward The representative revealed they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us." After the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for future change. "We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated. They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."