People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has haunted the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"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 seek to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "very understanding" when hearing the account of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, coming together and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," they stated.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
