Individuals who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who confesses to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later moved between various churches.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a woman victimized at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or staff in cases of abuse or failure to act."
The document also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced optimism for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a move in the correct path," Hickey stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
