People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their own story and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and continuing to build that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."
