Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Pushed
The group is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any priest who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
They noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity 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 consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they informed 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, they expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."
