Individuals who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
