People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "We have the same goal, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their own story and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."
