Individuals who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced fresh optimism after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and continuing to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he appreciated that."
