Members of the Ending Clergy Abuse, a global organization of abuse victims and activists, hold a press conference after a meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, in Rome, on Monday.

Pope Leo met with survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy for the first time on Monday, participants said, days after the Vatican’s child protection commission accused senior Church leaders of being too slow to help victims.

Leo held a meeting with Ending Clergy Abuse, an international coalition of survivors, the group said. The encounter, which included four victims and two advocates, lasted about an hour with “a significant moment of dialogue,” they said.

The 1.4-billion-member Church has been shaken for decades by scandals across the world involving abuse and cover-up, damaging its credibility and

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