\u201cI told him about the abuse,\u201d David Ryan said. \u201cI did get a feeling of being listened to and being understood.\u201d<\/p>\n
A victim of clerical sexual abuse from Ireland shared his story in a private meeting with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Monday.<\/p>\n
David Ryan, who was sexually abused by a Catholic priest at Blackrock College in Dublin in the 1970s, told a small group of reporters, including Colm Flynn of EWTN News, after the meeting that the pope \u201cwas horrified\u201d by his story during their 40-minute conversation Feb. 2.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t hold back. I told him about the abuse,\u201d said Ryan, whose deceased brother, Mark, was also abused while attending the same school. <\/p>\n
The pope \u201cjust listened to me and then I put my questions to him and we spoke about each one at length,\u201d Ryan said.<\/p>\n
Ryan said Leo called his questions \u201ctough\u201d and asked if he could have more time to reflect on them and respond further via email at a future date.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat an experience. I\u2019ll never, never forget it. [Pope Leo\u2019s] sincerity, his empathy. He felt my pain,\u201d Ryan said.<\/p>\n
Irish abuse survivor David Ryan speaks outside the Vatican right after his private meeting with Pope Leo XIV. @EWTNews pic.twitter.com\/Z3PWLXsIuX<\/p>\n
Ryan, who has been open about being abused for years from around age 11 by a Catholic priest from his school, said in a 2024 interview with EWTN News that \u201cyou never forget about it. It ruined my life, it ruined Mark\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that he shared with Leo that it took him 40 years to realize what happened to him was not his fault.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did get a feeling of being listened to and being understood,\u201d he said, adding that he hopes other victims will feel inspired to come forward.<\/p>\n
Deirdre Kenny, CEO of One In Four, an Irish organization that supports child sexual abuse survivors, also briefly met Pope Leo.<\/p>\n
Kenny called the encounter \u201cvery human \u2026 very down-to-earth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ryan said he is not \u201cvery religious,\u201d which he told the pope, but that he talks to God \u201cin my own funny, little way.\u201d<\/p>\n
This article was originally published by EWTN News English.<\/p>\n