Individuals who experienced sexual abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope following their first meeting with the new Pope at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading the anti-abuse organization, stated that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the issue.
Worldwide Zero-Tolerance Approach Advocated
The group is pushing for a global zero-tolerance policy that would defrock any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a minor. This approach has already been adopted in the US.
The Pontiff recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey stated.
Legacy Issue
The current pontiff, who took the role in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has plagued the Church for decades.
Earlier attempts to resolve the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to church laws to explicitly criminalize sexual abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the measure is personal. The Canadian activist shared 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," they expressed. "We have the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes victims and supporters from more than 30 countries, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The meeting, initially planned for a brief period, extended to a sixty minutes, during which the Pope "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when listening to the account of a woman victimized at a Catholic residential school for native youth in North America.
Hickey noted the Pope was "compassionate" about their own experience and seemed "very humble, funny, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't perceive like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I felt like he was genuine, realistic, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Canon Law Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to church regulations will enable the implementation of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have spoken with experts and compiled documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared interested in reviewing it," Hickey remarked.
Accountability Highlighted
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report highlighted the "importance of a streamlined protocol for the resignation and/or dismissal of religious officials or staff in cases of misconduct or failure to act."
The document also pointed out that victims repeatedly stressed the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for inaction and concealment."
Moving Forward
Hickey revealed they informed the Pope at the beginning 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 expressed optimism for future change.
"We understand it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the conclusion, uniting and building a connection and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
They concluded that they told with Pope Leo: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the narrative concludes - he valued that."
