People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated
The group is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Seven representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
They noted the leader was "tender" about their own experience 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," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol 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 repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand 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 bond is a move in the correct path," they commented.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
