Individuals who endured abuse by Catholic clergy have expressed renewed hope following their first 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 commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Inherited Challenge
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this longstanding problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on paedophilia within the institution and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They added the leader was "tender" about their personal story and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they commented. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is hoping that revisions to church regulations will facilitate the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with experts and gathered materials that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released church-ordered document highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also noted that victims repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the Pope at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," they stated.
They added that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can change how the story ends - he valued that."
