Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first meeting with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to engage with them so soon in his leadership sent a strong message about his dedication to tackling the issue.
Global Strict Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a worldwide strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is proven of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pope acknowledged that there is "opposition in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to the representative.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.
Inherited Issue
The current pontiff, who assumed the role in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for many years.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and changes to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," Hickey expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to end clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for native youth in Canada.
Hickey noted the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Victims have consistently sought a voice in discussions and I didn't perceive like he was giving us lip service," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, realistic, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered materials that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," they remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a efficient process for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and senior officials to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and continuing to strengthen that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey commented.
They added that they shared with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can alter how the narrative ends - he valued that."
