People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Seven representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a connection and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," they commented.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
