People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "importance 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 negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the beginning 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 future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and continuing to build that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
