People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Seven members of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."
