People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we recognized that there is resistance," they remarked.
Inherited Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their own experience and appeared "modest, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and eager to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and compiled materials that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered report emphasized the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced optimism 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 establishing a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a step in the right direction," they commented.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he appreciated that."
