People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses 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 proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They noted the Pope was "tender" about their own story and appeared "very humble, 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 genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and establishing a connection and continuing to build that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
