Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Seven members of the coalition, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," they stated.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
