People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in spring, has taken on this persistent issue that has haunted the Catholic Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were abused by a priest who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Historic Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey noted the leader was "tender" about their own story and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also noted that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, Hickey expressed optimism for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
