People who endured abuse by church officials have expressed renewed hope after their initial meeting with Pope Leo at the Holy See.
Gemma Hickey, heading Ending Clergy Abuse, stated that the pontiff's decision to meet with them so early in his papacy sent a strong message about his commitment to tackling the issue.
Global Zero-Tolerance Policy Advocated
The organization is pushing for a worldwide zero-tolerance policy that would permanently remove any priest who admits to or is found guilty of abusing a child. This approach has been implemented in the United States.
The Pope recognized that there is "resistance in some parts of the globe" to this proposal, according to the representative.
"We were all being realistic when we acknowledged that there is resistance," they stated.
Legacy Challenge
The current pontiff, who assumed the position in spring, has taken on this longstanding issue that has haunted the Church for many years.
Earlier attempts to address the problem included an unprecedented meeting on child abuse within the institution and revisions to canon law to clearly outlaw abuse.
Personal Connection
For Hickey, who prefers they/them pronouns, the drive for worldwide adoption of the policy is deeply meaningful. The North American advocate shared they were victimized by a clergy member who was later transferred between different parishes.
"We trust this will set the tone for his leadership, because we want to collaborate with him," they expressed. "We have the same goal, we want to end abuse by religious officials."
Historic Meeting
Seven representatives of the coalition, which represents survivors and advocates from more than 30 nations, engaged with the Pope in his Vatican office.
The meeting, originally scheduled for 20 minutes, lasted to a sixty minutes, during which the religious leader "mostly listened to us," according to Hickey.
The Pope was characterized as "quite empathetic" when hearing the story of a female survivor abused at a church-run institution for Indigenous children in Canada.
They added the leader was "compassionate" about their personal story and seemed "modest, humorous, and approachable."
"Victims have long wanted a seat at the table and I didn't feel like he was giving us lip service," Hickey commented. "I felt like he was genuine, practical, and receptive and eager to work with us."
Church Regulations Reforms
The organization is hoping that revisions to canon law will enable the adoption of the zero-tolerance policy globally.
They have consulted specialists and gathered documents that they will present to Pope Leo.
"He seemed interested in looking at it," Hickey remarked.
Responsibility Highlighted
A recent Vatican-commissioned document emphasized the "necessity of a streamlined protocol for the stepping down and/or dismissal of Church leaders or personnel in cases of abuse or negligence."
The document also pointed out that victims consistently emphasized the "urgent need for church leaders and major superiors to be made responsible for negligence and concealment."
Moving Forward
The representative revealed they informed the pontiff at the start of their discussion: "This is as much a challenge for him to engage in a dialogue as it was for us."
Following the encounter, Hickey expressed hope for progress.
"We realise it's not something that's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, uniting and establishing a relationship and persisting to strengthen that relationship is a move 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 change how the narrative ends - he valued that."
