Individuals who endured 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, stated that the pontiff's choice to meet with them so early in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a minor. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American activist shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the same goal, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when listening to the story of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the leader was "tender" about their own story and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table 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."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to canon law will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered report highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they told the Pope at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they expressed hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they commented.
Hickey added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story ends - he appreciated that."
