People who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The group is advocating for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, 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, coming together and building a connection and continuing to build that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
