People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," they remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, 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 characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he appreciated that."
