Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Approach Advocated
The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this longstanding problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, they expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they commented.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
