Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced renewed hope following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's choice to engage with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The organization is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is found guilty of sexually abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the globe" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is resistance," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented 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 gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is personal. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to work with him," they expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the organization, which represents victims and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "tender" about their own story and seemed "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they commented. "I believed like he was genuine, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."
Canon Law Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will enable the adoption of the strict approach globally.
They have consulted experts and compiled materials that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," they remarked.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document emphasized the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The report also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they told the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to participate in a conversation as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a connection and continuing to strengthen that bond is a step in the correct path," Hickey commented.
They added that they shared with the pontiff: "Just because it's a difficult period, I feel like we can change how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
