People who endured sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed fresh optimism after their first meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's decision to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an historic summit on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the measure is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was subsequently moved 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 end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven members of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey added the leader was "compassionate" about their own story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered materials that they plan to present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they told the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the meeting, they expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step 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 narrative ends - he valued that."
