🔗 Share this article Victims of Catholic Religious Sexual Abuse Voice Optimism Following Encounter with the Pontiff End Clergy Abuse Global board members and survivors gather in St. Peter Square after the meeting with Pope Leo People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican. Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue. Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States. The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative. "Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated. Inherited Issue The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades. Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse. Personal Connection For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between various churches. "Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse." Historic Encounter Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence. The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative. The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada. Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their own story and seemed "modest, 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," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us." Pope Leo leads religious service in the Vatican on 19 October Canon Law Reforms The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide. They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff. "He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted. Accountability Emphasized A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act." The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up." Path Ahead Hickey shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us." Following the meeting, they expressed hope for future change. "We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," they commented. Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."