People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and gathered documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced optimism for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
