People who experienced abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the same goal, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple representatives of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their own story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors 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 sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the resignation and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue 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 conclusion, coming together and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," they commented.
They added that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
