People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Seven representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their own story and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
