People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
