People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading 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 issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition 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 stated.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
