People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their first encounter with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the Pope's decision to meet with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to addressing the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Policy Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who took the position in May, has taken on this longstanding problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Link
For Hickey, who uses they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is personal. The North American activist shared they were abused by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Seven members of the organization, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 nations, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
Hickey added the leader was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The group is advocating that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they will submit to the pontiff.
"He appeared engaged in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed 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 continuing to strengthen that bond is a move in the right direction," they stated.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he valued that."
