People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They added the Pope was "tender" about their own story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
