Individuals who experienced abuse by church officials have voiced fresh optimism following their initial meeting with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so early in his leadership spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Strict Approach Pushed
The group is pushing for a global strict approach that would permanently remove any clergy member who admits to or is proven of abusing a child. This policy has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this proposal, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who took the position in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to resolve the problem included an unprecedented summit on child abuse within the Church and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the campaign for global implementation of the measure is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was subsequently transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his papacy, because we want to collaborate with him," they stated. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Encounter
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, engaged with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The discussion, originally scheduled for a brief period, lasted 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 account of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, realistic, and receptive and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The group is advocating that revisions to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy worldwide.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed engaged in reviewing it," they remarked.
Accountability Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned document highlighted the "necessity of a efficient process for the stepping down and/or removal of religious officials or personnel in cases of misconduct or negligence."
The report also noted that survivors repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for bishops and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the pontiff at the start of their meeting: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the encounter, Hickey voiced hope for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a relationship and persisting to build that relationship is a move in the right direction," Hickey commented.
Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."
