People who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "We have the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "tender" about their own story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and compiled documents that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand 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 correct path," they stated.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
