People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed fresh optimism following their initial encounter with the new Pope at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so early in his papacy spoke volumes about his commitment to addressing the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Approach Pushed
The group is advocating 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 acknowledged that there is "resistance in certain regions of the world" to this initiative, according to Hickey.
"Everyone was practical when we acknowledged that there is pushback," Hickey remarked.
Legacy Issue
The new Pope, who assumed the role in May, has inherited this persistent issue that has haunted the Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic meeting on child abuse within the Church and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw sexual abuse.
Deeply Felt Connection
For the representative, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for global implementation of the policy is deeply meaningful. The Canadian advocate shared they were victimized by a priest who was later moved between different parishes.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate abuse by religious officials."
Significant Encounter
Multiple members of the coalition, which includes survivors and supporters from over thirty countries, met with the Pontiff in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for a brief period, extended to a full hour, during which the religious leader "primarily heard to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor victimized at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their own experience and appeared "very humble, funny, and approachable."
"Victims have consistently sought a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," Hickey stated. "I felt like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The group is hoping that changes to church regulations will facilitate the adoption of the strict approach worldwide.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they will submit to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in reviewing it," Hickey noted.
Responsibility Emphasized
A recently released Vatican-commissioned report emphasized 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 report also pointed out that survivors consistently emphasized the "critical requirement for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and cover-up."
Path Ahead
The representative shared they informed the pontiff at the beginning of their discussion: "This is as much a risk for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
After the meeting, they voiced hope for future change.
"We realise it's not something that's going to be resolved quickly, but at the end of the day, uniting and building a connection and continuing to build that relationship is a step in the correct path," Hickey stated.
Hickey added that they told with the pontiff: "Even though it's a difficult period, I believe like we can alter how the story ends - he valued that."