People who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a global strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has inherited this longstanding issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the organization, which includes victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They added the leader was "tender" about their own story and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," they commented.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
