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New Pope, Same Crisis — ECA Calls on Pope Leo XIV to End Clergy Abuse Now

May 9, 2025, Vatican City – “Peace be with you all.” With these words, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost greeted the world yesterday as Pope Leo XIV, the newly elected head of the Roman Catholic Church — and the first American ever to ascend to the papacy.

An Augustinian friar, missionary, and former bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, Pope Leo XIV is known for his pastoral sensibility and administrative skill. In his first public address, he paid tribute to Pope Francis, then turned to the Peruvian people he once served, speaking in fluent Spanish. He concluded with a call for a synodal Church — “one which goes forward, seeks peace, and is close to those who suffer.”

Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA), a global network of survivors and human rights advocates, welcomes the spirit of this message but urges Pope Leo XIV to move beyond symbolism. Survivors around the world are not asking for gestures, they demand truth, justice, and reform.

“ECA calls on Pope Leo XIV to meet with us without delay. Survivors are watching. The world is waiting,” said Gemma Hickey, survivor and President of the ECA Board. “Let this Pope be remembered not for the global abuse crisis he inherits, but for how he ends it.”

While some U.S.-based survivor groups have rushed to criticize Pope Leo XIV for his alleged mishandling of abuse cases, others — particularly in Latin America — hold out hope, citing his pivotal intervention in the Sodalicio scandal in Peru as a sign of potential reform.

“As Bishop of Chiclayo, Robert Prevost played a decisive role in confronting the Sodalicio case — one of the most egregious abuse scandals in Latin America,” said Pedro Salinas, journalist, Sodalicio survivor, and ECA founding member. “He stood with us when others didn’t. That’s why his election matters.”

Still, questions remain about his response to abuse cases under his watch, reigniting calls for transparency, independent investigation, and survivor inclusion. Pope Leo XIV now faces a critical choice: preserve a broken system or lead the Church into a future grounded in accountability and survivor-led reform.

“This Pope has an opportunity to define himself not by the Church’s past, but by the justice he delivers in the present,” said Hickey. “The credibility of the Church rests not on popularity, but on courage.”

ECA acknowledges that some allegations were later discredited but insists that all survivors deserve to be heard, and that every case must be investigated with integrity and compassion.

ECA stands ready to work with Pope Leo XIV to ensure that survivors are not only listened to but meaningfully included in shaping the changes they’ve fought for, including making zero tolerance universal Church law. A meeting with ECA representatives is the first step toward rebuilding trust.

“Though American by birth, he served for years in one of the poorest regions of my country and earned the people’s respect through humility and action,” said Salinas. “This is not only historic but also a hopeful sign in the Church’s long struggle against sexual abuse.”

Pope Leo XIV enters the papacy not only as a symbol of historic firsts — American, Augustinian, missionary — but as a potential bridge between a wounded Church and the long-overdue justice that survivors demand.

ECA representatives are in Rome until Sunday, May 11, and are available for interviews.

Media Contacts:

Gemma Hickey
Survivor-Advocate, Author, ECA Board President
???? gemmamhickey@gmail.com | ???? +1 709 690 5244

Pedro Salinas
Survivor-Advocate, Author, Journalist, ECA Founding Member
???? psalinasch@gmail.com | ???? +61 998 327 695