🔗 Share this article Survivors of Catholic Religious Sex Abuse Express Optimism After Encounter with the Pontiff End Clergy Abuse Global board members and survivors gather in St. Peter Square following the meeting with the Pontiff Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See. Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the problem. Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States. The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative. "We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked. Inherited Issue The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades. Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse. Personal Link 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 abused by a priest who was later moved between different parishes. "We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse." Historic Encounter Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence. The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey. The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America. They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable." "Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us." Pope Leo celebrates Mass in the Vatican on recently Canon Law Changes The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally. They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they will present to Pope Leo. "He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked. Responsibility Emphasized A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act." The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up." Path Ahead Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us." After the encounter, they expressed hope for progress. "We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated. Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."