🔗 Share this article Survivors of Church Religious Sexual Abuse Voice Hope After Encounter with the Pontiff Anti-Abuse Organization representatives and survivors pose in St. Peter Square after the meeting with the Pontiff Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See. The board president, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue. Global Strict Approach Advocated The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US. The Pope 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 recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked. Inherited Challenge The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years. Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse. Personal Connection For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes. "We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse." Significant Encounter Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged 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 the representative. The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America. Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth." "Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us." The Pontiff celebrates Mass in Vatican City on 19 October Church Regulations Reforms The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally. They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff. "He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey noted. Accountability Emphasized A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff 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 held accountable for inaction and cover-up." Moving Forward Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us." Following the encounter, they voiced hope for future change. "We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," they commented. Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."