Historic Meeting, Unanswered Questions: Pope Leo XIV and the Survivors of Clerical Abuse
The long and painful history of clerical sexual abuse has returned once again to the centre of Vatican attention. Survivors from across the world, representing Ending Clergy Abuse Global (ECA Global), were received in a private audience by Pope Leo XIV at the Apostolic Palace—an encounter that many described as “historic.” For decades, survivors have sought not only acknowledgment but also systemic reform. This meeting, which ran three times longer than scheduled, has been heralded as a moment of promise in the early months of a new pontificate. Yet it also exposes lingering contradictions and unhealed wounds—both within the global Church and in Pope Leo’s own record as a diocesan ordinary.
A fragile hope
For survivors who have struggled for decades against denial, delay, and institutional silence, the fact that Pope Leo met with them so early in his pontificate carries symbolic weight. “It spoke volumes,” said Gemma Hickey, president of ECA Global and themselves a survivor of clerical abuse in Canada. The group’s delegation of seven, representing over thirty nations, sat with the Pope for nearly an hour, recounting their experiences and presenting proposals for reform. Hickey described the Holy Father as “empathetic, humble, and eager to collaborate.”
The survivors asked that the universal Church adopt a zero-tolerance policy akin to that of the United States, whereby any cleric proven or admitting to sexual abuse of a minor is permanently removed from ministry and the clerical state. Pope Leo reportedly acknowledged that “resistance in some parts of the world” remains strong. Nevertheless, his willingness to listen attentively—and the length of the meeting itself—were seen as positive signs. Hickey said afterward that the Pope’s manner was “very tender” and that his empathy appeared genuine rather than perfunctory.
The Vatican’s own Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors has recently echoed similar calls. Its latest report insists that the Church must establish “a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence,” and that transparency regarding such removals must be guaranteed. The report criticised the opacity of past procedures, which often left victims uncertain about the status of their cases. Pope Leo’s willingness to engage with ECA Global appeared to align with this new push for clarity.
The Peruvian question
But goodwill gestures cannot erase the past, and scrutiny of Pope Leo’s own history continues to grow. As bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, and earlier as an Augustinian superior, the now-Pope faced allegations of inaction and leniency in handling cases of abuse. Bishop Edinson Farfán, his successor in Chiclayo, has defended him, asserting that then-Bishop Prevost “listened” and “respected the canonical processes.” Yet victims and advocacy groups within Peru maintain that complaints were quietly shelved, investigations inconclusive, and accused clerics allowed to continue their ministries with minimal restriction.
These accusations, even if unproven, have reignited debate over episcopal responsibility. The question is not whether Leo XIV followed procedure, but whether he did enough. In the words of one Peruvian survivor quoted by La República, “Justice delayed was justice denied. The process may have been followed, but the priest continued to celebrate Mass.” Critics contend that such caution reflects a persistent institutional fear—placing the preservation of clerical reputation above the protection of the vulnerable.
For Pope Leo, this past represents more than personal controversy; it is emblematic of the structural challenge he must now confront. If he is to reform the Church credibly, he must not only legislate but exemplify accountability, beginning with his own episcopal legacy.
The hypocrisy of reform
The new Pope inherits a Church wearied by decades of disillusionment. His predecessor, Pope Francis, sought to tackle clerical abuse through a mixture of pastoral gestures and legal reforms. In 2019, Francis convened a global summit on the protection of minors and promulgated the motu proprio Vos Estis Lux Mundi, establishing procedures to investigate bishops accused of negligence. Yet critics soon observed that these measures were inconsistently applied.
United Nations rapporteurs accused the Holy See of continuing to “obstruct justice” by withholding documentation from civil authorities. Survivors noted that bishops and cardinals found culpable often faced quiet reassignment rather than public sanction. Francis’s defenders praised his empathy and global outreach, but others saw in his approach a form of selective moralism—eloquent in rhetoric, hesitant in action. One commentator described it as “a policy of apology without repentance.”
It is within this atmosphere that Pope Leo must now define his leadership. Survivors hope he can convert compassion into enforcement, but they are wary. The new pontiff is admired for his pastoral humility, yet past failures of enforcement haunt every gesture of goodwill. His challenge lies in proving that his empathy is not another chapter in the long cycle of listening sessions and photo opportunities, but the prelude to concrete reform.
The unanswered letter
Into this tension enters the open letter of Msgr. Gene Thomas Gomulka, a retired naval chaplain, seminary formator, and veteran advocate for victims. Addressed directly to Pope Leo XIV in June 2025, the letter urged immediate canonical reform, global zero-tolerance legislation, and the removal of bishops complicit in cover-ups. “Will Pope Leo sacrifice a bishop for a pawn?” Gomulka asked. “If he truly intends to clean house, he must begin at home.”
The letter circulated widely among survivor groups and traditional Catholic reformers, resonating for its combination of realism and moral urgency. Yet as of late October, it remains unanswered. Neither acknowledgment nor response has been issued from the Apostolic Palace. The silence has been read by many as a discouraging sign—proof that the Vatican’s mechanisms of accountability remain inward-facing and slow to respond, even when publicly committed to transparency.
For some, Gomulka’s letter now stands as a moral mirror held before the pontificate: the Pope who wishes to heal must first answer the wounded who speak directly to him. His failure to reply risks undermining the very trust that his audience with survivors sought to restore.
A papacy under moral scrutiny
ECA Global’s meeting with Pope Leo XIV represents a sincere attempt to begin anew. It was, as Gemma Hickey remarked, “a big step for all of us.” Survivors who had long been excluded from Vatican deliberations were, for the first time, invited into the heart of the Church’s governance. They were not lectured but heard. In the immediate sense, this meeting has already achieved something previous decades could not: an open conversation, human and direct.
But the deeper challenge remains unresolved. The Church’s credibility has been gravely wounded by decades of evasion and clerical self-protection. Pope Leo cannot restore it through sympathy alone. He must ensure that every bishop, every religious superior, and every priest stands accountable before the same law. The days of silence, secrecy, and soft discipline must end if the Church is to bear witness to truth again.
The new Pope’s background as a missionary and Augustinian suggests a temperament inclined toward humility and dialogue. Yet humility without justice can become complicity. The faithful, and indeed the watching world, will judge his papacy not by the warmth of his words but by the firmness of his governance. To heal the Body of Christ, empathy must be wed to action, mercy to judgment, and consolation to conversion.
If Pope Leo XIV truly desires a reformation of hearts and structures alike, he must confront the sins within his own household. For only when the shepherd takes responsibility for the flock’s wounds can the Church hope to regain the moral authority it has squandered.
Footnotes
¹ Mallory Moench, “Catholic clergy sex abuse survivors hopeful after Pope Leo meeting,” BBC News, 20 October 2025.
² “Peruvian bishop defends Pope Leo XIV against accusations of cover-up,” Catholic News Agency, 13 May 2025.
³ “Church is obstructing justice for clerical child abuse, say UN experts,” Justice Info, 28 July 2021.
⁴ Gene Thomas Gomulka, “Open Letter to Pope Leo XIV,” Purify the Church, 3 June 2025.
⁵ “Pope Leo XIV and the abuse crisis: what happens next?” OSV News, 24 May 2025.
⁶ “As Pope Leo’s record faces scrutiny,” Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2025.
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