🔗 Share this article Victims of Church Religious Sexual Abuse Express Hope After Meeting with the Pontiff End Clergy Abuse Global board members and victims pose in Vatican Square following the encounter with Pope Leo People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See. The board president, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue. Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States. The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative. "We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated. Inherited Issue The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for many years. Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse. Personal Link For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches. "We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials." Historic Encounter Seven representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his official residence. The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey. The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada. Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "modest, humorous, 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 stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen 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 adoption of the strict approach globally. They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff. "He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they noted. Responsibility Highlighted A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act." The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment." Moving Forward Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us." Following the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for future change. "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 strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented. They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."