People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
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 found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Seven representatives of the organization, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
