Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in May, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Seven members of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
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 "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims 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 receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, they expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
