Individuals who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their own story and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
