People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced optimism for progress.
"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 connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," they stated.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
