People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity 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 survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
