🔗 Share this article Survivors of Church Clergy Sex Abuse Express Optimism Following Meeting with Pope Leo Anti-Abuse Organization board members and survivors gather in Vatican Square after the encounter with the Pontiff Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican. The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem. Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US. The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey. "We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked. Legacy Challenge The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for decades. Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse. Personal Link For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches. "Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse." Historic Meeting Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office. The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative. The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada. Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth." "Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us." Pope Leo leads religious service in the Vatican on 19 October Canon Law Reforms The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally. They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo. "He appeared engaged in looking at it," they remarked. Responsibility Highlighted A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act." The report also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up." Path Ahead Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us." Following the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for progress. "We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated. They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."