People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "We have the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own story and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted 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 eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and compiled materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they told 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 encounter, they voiced hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to build that bond is a move in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
