People who endured sexual abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his dedication to tackling the problem.
Worldwide Strict Approach Advocated
The group is advocating 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 been implemented in the US.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the globe" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we recognized that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in spring, has taken on this persistent problem that has haunted the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the situation included an unprecedented summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to canon law to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For Hickey, who prefers gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the measure is personal. The North American activist revealed they were abused by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"Hopefully this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we seek to end abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Seven representatives of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when hearing the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in Canada.
They noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "very humble, humorous, and approachable."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey commented. "I believed like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is advocating that changes to canon law will facilitate the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted experts and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or removal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The document also pointed out that survivors repeatedly stressed the "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for negligence and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This represents as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, 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, coming together and building 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: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
