Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Strict Policy Advocated
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has inherited this longstanding problem that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to end clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They added the leader was "tender" about their own story and appeared "modest, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they will present to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they voiced hope for progress.
"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 relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey commented.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
