Individuals who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian activist shared 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," they stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Significant Encounter
Seven representatives of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of Church leaders 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."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, they voiced hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the correct path," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."
