Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their own story and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and gathered materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, 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 persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," they stated.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
