People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Seven representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
