People who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually 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 proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced hope 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 establishing a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
