People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and compiled materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the pontiff 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 encounter, they expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," they stated.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
