People who endured abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The organization is advocating for a worldwide strict approach that would defrock any clergy member who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "opposition in certain regions of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Inherited Challenge
The new Pope, who assumed the position 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 paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Personal Connection
For the representative, who uses they/them pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate revealed they were abused by a priest who was subsequently moved between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Multiple representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and advocates from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to the representative.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "tender" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and very open and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to the pontiff.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or staff in cases of abuse or negligence."
The report also noted that victims consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and cover-up."
Path Ahead
Hickey shared they informed the Pope at the beginning of their meeting: "This represents as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," they stated.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a dark chapter, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he valued that."
