People who experienced sexual abuse by Catholic clergy have voiced renewed hope after their initial encounter with Pope Leo at the Vatican.
Gemma Hickey, who leads the anti-abuse organization, commented that the Pope's choice to engage with them so soon in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the problem.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The group is advocating for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who confesses to or is proven of abusing a child. This approach has already been adopted in the United States.
The Pontiff acknowledged that there is "opposition in some parts of the world" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they remarked.
Legacy Challenge
The new Pope, who took the role in May, has taken on this persistent issue that has plagued the Catholic Church for decades.
Previous efforts to address the problem included an historic summit on paedophilia within the Church and changes to church laws to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Link
For the representative, who uses gender-neutral pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is personal. The North American advocate revealed they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between various churches.
"We trust this will establish the direction for his leadership, because we aim to work with him," Hickey expressed. "Both sides share the common objective, we want to eliminate clergy abuse."
Significant Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from over thirty nations, met with the Pope in his official residence.
The discussion, initially planned for 20 minutes, lasted to a full hour, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The pontiff was described as "quite empathetic" when listening to the story of a female survivor abused at a Catholic residential school for Indigenous children in North America.
Hickey added the Pope was "compassionate" about their personal experience and appeared "very humble, humorous, and very down to earth."
"Survivors have long wanted a voice in discussions and I didn't feel like he was making empty promises," they stated. "I believed like he was sincere, practical, and very open and keen to collaborate with us."
Church Regulations Changes
The organization is advocating that changes to canon law will enable the implementation of the strict approach globally.
They have spoken with specialists and compiled documents that they plan to submit to Pope Leo.
"He appeared engaged in looking at it," Hickey noted.
Accountability Emphasized
A recent church-ordered document highlighted the "importance of a efficient process 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 "urgent need for bishops and senior officials to be held accountable for inaction and cover-up."
Moving Forward
Hickey shared they told the Pope at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a conversation as it was for us."
Following the encounter, they voiced hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, coming together and building a relationship and persisting to strengthen that bond is a step in the right direction," Hickey stated.
Hickey concluded that they told with the pontiff: "Just because it's a dark chapter, I believe like we can alter how the story concludes - he appreciated that."
