People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this persistent problem that has plagued the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to address the situation included an unprecedented meeting on paedophilia within the Church and revisions to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For Hickey, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American activist revealed they were victimized by a priest who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we aim to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the same goal, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Seven members of the organization, which represents victims and supporters from over thirty nations, met with the Pontiff in his official residence.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "very understanding" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
They added the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to present to the pontiff.
"He appeared interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or staff in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to participate in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move in the correct path," they commented.
They concluded that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he appreciated that."
