People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey voiced 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 continuing to build that bond is a step in the right direction," they stated.
Hickey added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
