People who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American activist shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his papacy, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Multiple representatives of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their personal story and seemed "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and persisting to build that bond is a step in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey concluded that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
