Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after 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 soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which represents 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 Pope was described as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey voiced hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he appreciated that."
