People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their initial 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 dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to build that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he appreciated that."
