🔗 Share this article Victims of Church Clergy Sexual Abuse Voice Hope Following Meeting with the Pontiff End Clergy Abuse Global board members and survivors pose in St. Peter Square following the meeting with the Pontiff Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican. The board president, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue. Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States. The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey. "Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated. Legacy Issue The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for decades. Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse. Personal Link For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes. "We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse." Significant Meeting Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his official residence. The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey. The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America. Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "modest, funny, and approachable." "Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us." The Pontiff leads religious service in the Vatican on recently Church Regulations Reforms The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally. They have consulted specialists and compiled materials that they plan to present to the pontiff. "He appeared engaged in looking at it," they remarked. Accountability Emphasized A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act." The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up." Path Ahead Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us." Following the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for progress. "We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they commented. Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."