🔗 Share this article Victims of Catholic Clergy Sexual Abuse Express Optimism After Meeting with the Pontiff End Clergy Abuse Global representatives and victims pose in St. Peter Square after the meeting with Pope Leo People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See. The board president, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue. Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US. The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative. "We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated. Legacy Challenge The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for decades. Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse. Deeply Felt Link For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches. "Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse." Historic Meeting Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his official residence. The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey. The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada. They noted the leader was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable." "Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to work with us." The Pontiff leads religious service in Vatican City on 19 October Canon Law Changes The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide. They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they will present to the pontiff. "He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they remarked. Responsibility Emphasized A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence." The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment." Moving Forward The representative shared 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 hope for progress. "We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated. They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."