Pope Leo XIV Meets Abuse Survivors as Diocese Pays $8 Million Settlement

Michael Ringer

22 Oct 2025 — 4 min read

Pope Leo meets abuse survivors

Vatican City / Albany, New York - Pope Leo XIV held his first meeting with an organization of clergy sexual abuse survivors and advocates on Monday, October 20, 2025, agreeing to maintain permanent dialogue as they press for a universal zero-tolerance policy in the Catholic Church.

The Pope met with six members of Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA), a global organization representing survivors from more than 30 countries. The meeting, scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted an hour at the Vatican's Apostolic Palace.

"Survivors have long sought a seat at the table, and today we felt heard"

said Gemma Hickey, ECA co-founder and Canadian survivor, in a statement. "Pope Leo was very warm, he listened. We told him that we come as bridge-builders, ready to walk together toward truth, justice and healing."

Tim Law, ECA co-founder, said Pope Leo acknowledged "there was great resistance" to the idea of a universal zero-tolerance law but agreed to work with the group to move the idea forward.

History's first American pope acknowledged the significance of meeting with ECA as an activist organization, members told a press conference. Popes Francis and Benedict XVI had met with individual victims but kept activist and advocacy organizations at arm's length.

Survivors said Pope Leo told them he was still coming to grips with the enormity of the church's scandals after becoming pope in May 2025. "I think he is still in a phase where he is trying to find out how to best address these issues," said German participant Matthias Katsch.

The group presented their "Zero Tolerance Initiative," emphasizing "the importance of consistent global standards and victim-centered policies." They also discussed the work of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and proposed establishing dialogue between the two bodies.

The meeting came days after the Vatican's child protection commission released a report faulting senior bishops for being too slow to help victims and not providing information about how abuse reports were being handled.

Meanwhile, the Diocese of Albany, New York, agreed to an $8 million settlement on October 16, 2025, with Michael Harmon, who alleged he was sexually abused hundreds of times beginning at age 11 by Father Edward Charles Pratt, who served as vice chancellor of the Albany diocese.

The settlement came four days before a scheduled jury trial that would have exposed the diocese's cover-up of child sexual abuse. Harmon's attorneys said the diocese "received reports about Father Pratt's sexual abuse of children before Michael was ever abused."

Pratt, now 81, admitted in an October 2021 deposition to sexually abusing Harmon and other children. He was removed from ministry in 2002 and is listed on the diocese's list of clergy credibly accused of sexual abuse.

Former Albany Bishop Howard Hubbard, who died in 2023, admitted he covered up allegations of child sexual abuse by priests to preserve "respect for the priesthood." He also admitted that records documenting sexual abuse allegations were kept in secret files accessible only to him and top church officials.

Harmon filed his case under New York's Child Victims Act, passed in 2019, which suspended the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse. The Diocese of Albany filed for bankruptcy in 2023. The $8 million settlement must be approved through bankruptcy court.

Attorney Cynthia LaFave said the "substantial" settlement "does not erase the trauma that Michael Harmon endured. Michael will live with this for all of his life."

The Catholic Church has paid out more than $3 billion in major settlements and awards in the United States, according to Bishop Accountability. Recent major settlements include $246 million from the Diocese of Rochester and $176 million from the Diocese of Syracuse.

THE CRUSADERS OPINION

Pope Leo XIV met with abuse survivors. Eight million dollars paid to one victim. Decades of cover-ups exposed. Bishops admitted hiding abuse to protect "respect for the priesthood."

The Catholic Church's sex abuse crisis sadly, isn't history. It's ongoing reality. Michael Harmon suffered hundreds of assaults starting at age 11.

The diocese knew. Bishop Hubbard covered it up. Secret files hid the evidence. Father Pratt kept abusing children.

Eight million dollars can't restore stolen innocence.

No settlement erases trauma that lasts a lifetime. Money doesn't heal what predator priests destroyed.

But accountability matters. Justice matters. Exposing evil matters.

I truly commend his Holiness Pope Leo for listening to survivors for an hour. Previous popes met victims but avoided activist organizations.

Leo's willingness to engage Ending Clergy Abuse represents progress. But listening isn't enough.

The Church needs universal zero-tolerance. No priest who abuses a child should ever serve in ministry again. Period.

Bishops resisted zero-tolerance because it threatens their power. They protected abusive priests over vulnerable children. They prioritized institutional reputation over Gospel truth. They became accomplices to evil.

Scripture is clear:

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea" (Matthew 18:6).

Church leaders who covered up abuse face God's judgment, but we also need to ensure they see the judgement of the law in this life.

The Church must implement zero-tolerance globally. Remove every abusive priest permanently. End episcopal cover-ups. Open secret files. Prosecute criminals. Compensate victims fairly. Stop protecting predators.

Catholics in the pews bear responsibility too. Stop giving money to dioceses that protect abusers. Demand accountability. Support survivors. Press for reform. Don't enable institutional evil with donations and silence.

Pope Leo's meeting is a start. But survivors need action, not just listening. They need justice, not just dialogue. They need the Church to finally choose victims over predators.