People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity 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 report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed 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 building a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a move in the correct path," they commented.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
