Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
