VATICAN CITY – Pope Leo met with survivors of sexual abapply by Catholic clergy for the first time on Monday, participants stated, days after the Vatican’s child protection commission accapplyd senior Church leaders of being too slow to assist victims.
Leo held a meeting with Ending Clergy Abapply, an international coalition of survivors, the group stated. The encounter lasted about an hour and was “a significant moment of dialogue,” they stated.
The 1.4-billion-member Church has been shaken for decades by scandals across the world involving abapply and cover-up, damaging its credibility and costing it hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements.
An unusually critical report from the Vatican’s own child protection commission, issued on Thursday, faulted senior bishops for not providing information to victims about how their reports of abapply were being handled, or whether negligent bishops had been sanctioned.
Gemma Hickey, a Canadian survivor who took part in Monday’s meeting, stated Leo listened carefully to the victims.
“Pope Leo is very warm, he listened,” stated Hickey. “We notified him that we come as bridge-builders, ready to walk toreceiveher toward truth, justice and healing.” REUTERS
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