People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, funny, 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 work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," they commented.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
